《Violet Reborn (Isekai)》 Maps I¡¯ll post any non-spoiler maps and images I make in this section. Right now, all I have is a map of Kasmaya, but I will be adding to this as I make more. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Word Count Chapter 1 - Last Flight (Updated) ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, fasten your seat belts and remain seated, please. We are experiencing some heavy turbulence.¡± the captain said over the intercom. The plane shook violently as the storm outside raged. In the distance, she could see lightning flash now and then. Sarah, her parents, and most of her extended family were on a flight heading to the Bahamas. One of her cousins had the bright idea that their family reunion should be in a tropical place this year, and grandma was more than happy to help pay for the trip. The plane shook once again as the rain outside her window became more intense. The flashing of lightning was starting to increase in frequency. Down the aisle, she could hear her little niece screaming her lungs out. Looking around, quite a few people had located the little bags in the seatback pocket and were currently holding on to them for dear life. It would only take one person throwing up to start a chain reaction of others doing the same caused by the smell. Outside her window, a bright light nearly blinded her, and there was the sound of an explosion. The plane shook even more violently, and the oxygen masks fell from overhead. Hurrying to put her oxygen mask on, she fumbled with the straps because her hands were shaking so badly. Next to her, her dad helped her secure her oxygen mask. He was calm when she looked at him. It looked like he was trying to make a face at her to make her feel better. She caught him rolling his eyes at her mother¡¯s antics beside him. She was almost turned around backward in her seat, using sign language to speak to the rest of the family. ¡°If we don''t make it, know that I will be happy that I was with my two most favorite ladies in the world until the end. I love you,¡± he said. Her mother, on the other side of him, was looking rather green when she had finally turned back around. She was not doing well with all of this turbulence. ¡°I love you both,¡± She said to her parents right as the engine blew up and a side of their plane was destroyed, making further communication impossible. The aircraft then leaned alarmingly forward and to one side. She could see out her window that the ocean was getting closer. They splashed into the water, and the world went black. For a long time, it felt like Sarah was floating in the void. She wished for one of her senses to work. At this point, any one of her senses would do. Thinking of strong smells, she remembered how her mother always smelled like hand sanitizer. She was constantly rubbing it on her hands between each patient she saw at work. By the time she got home at night, it had smelled like she had taken a bath in the stuff. Her mother was a doctor who specialized in infectious diseases. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. As time went by, her surroundings started to lighten, and she began to feel things again, like warmth. From time to time, she could hear sounds that sounded like someone was talking, but the words were muffled and not a language she had ever learned. She knew quite a few languages. At an early age, she learned sign language, as was all the rave while she was growing up. Sarah found she had a knack for picking up any language she tried to learn quickly and efficiently as she got older. When she got to college, she decided to major in Archaeology and minor in Linguistics, focusing on ancient languages. Her goal was to eventually be on a research team trying to decipher dead languages found worldwide. She kept losing consciousness floating in the endless void. Eventually, her surroundings began to contract around her. She felt like something was trying to squeeze her out of her warm pool of comfort. The squeezing happened more frequently as time went by, and she felt pushed down a narrow path. It felt like an eternity had passed when finally she pushed through the narrow path. The air was suddenly available to her, but something was blocking her airways. She started coughing as something wiped her face clean, and she was finally able to take in a huge breath. She screamed with all she had in her. Someone was talking around her, but she could not understand what they were saying. She felt herself being wiped clean with a soft cloth and then wrapped up in a blanket. It looked like a giant was holding her. They were huge! She tried to move, but her muscles were not responding. She couldn''t even lift her head. Did she somehow survive the crash, and now she was so broken and weak that she couldn''t move? She didn''t feel any pain. It was all so confusing for her. A loud commotion broke her out of her confused thoughts, and she was handed to a new person. The blanket wrapped around her was removed, and she was placed naked on a cold table. The shock of the icy surface on her back caused her to start crying again. Looking at her tiny hands, she realized that she was once again a baby. She felt like a rag doll as cold hands searched her body, turning her this way and that, looking at every inch of her body. She didn¡¯t know what they were looking for, but she felt violated. They either found or didn¡¯t find whatever they were looking for because she was being wrapped up in a warm blanket once again. Wait, was she still a girl? Oh goodness, she hoped she was. She had no interest in becoming male. Once again, she felt her body lift, and this time she was handed off to a tired-looking woman on a bed. Was this her new mother? The woman started talking to her, but the words made no sense. It felt nice to be held by this woman, and she began to doze off. A loud sound played, and she awakened to a blue-screened notice taking up the majority of her vision. [System Initialization Complete]
Level 1
Health 20/20
Strength 1
Constitution 2
Dexterity 1
Intelligence 32
Wisdom 21
[Traits] [Skills] [Magic] What in the world? Chapter 2 - First Stats and Skill (Updated) She may or may not have passed out after the blue screen flashed in her face. Being born for the second time was a traumatic experience for her. A blue screen popping up out of nowhere was too much for her. When she woke up again, her mother was attempting to feed her. It was a little awkward at first for her, but she eventually gave up when she figured out she wouldn''t be eating any other way for a minimum of a year. While she was eating, her mother started to hum a lullaby she had never heard before. She fell asleep to the soothing sound of the humming. When she woke sometime later, she felt like they had placed her in a straight jacket. She was wrapped in a blanket that made it almost impossible for her to move. Her muscles were not responding to her the way she felt they should, and it was hard for her to focus on objects in the distance when she looked around. Eventually, she had used all of the energy she had and fell back asleep. The next time she woke up was to an unpleasant feeling near her nether region. She had no control over her bladder and would have to put up with this indignity for the foreseeable future. It was time to see how quickly her new mother responded to her when she cried. It turned out her mother was doing an excellent job of watching her. As soon as she started to cry, her mother came over and changed the offensive cloth diaper, and as a bonus, she even got a free meal out of it.
It took her over a week before she got around to trying to call up that blue screen again. To be fair, she thought it was a figment of her imagination initially. It wasn¡¯t until she got another message that she wondered if she was in a game world. She was not a gamer in her old life, but she had a cousin who was really into it that would rarely shut up when she was around him. [Skill gained: Mathematics 1] She was trying to count the number of times she had eaten to figure out how many days may have passed. It did not take her long to abandon that method of calculating the days after realizing that she was eating quite a few more than three times a day. After quitting any thoughts of counting the days, she started doing simple addition and subtraction in her head to relieve boredom and keep her mind off the past. As soon as she began to do multiplication tables, the skill notice popped up. After seeing that she had gained a skill, she started to think of a way to bring up that big blue box that she had seen a while ago. When she tried to speak commands, her mouth wouldn''t work right, and all that came out was babble. This had the added benefit of a free meal but no blue boxes. Next, she started to think the commands she wanted. ¡®Character¡¯ ¡®System¡¯ ¡®Computer¡¯ ¡®Status¡¯
Level 1
Health 20/20
Strength 1
Constitution 2
Dexterity 1
Intelligence 32
Wisdom 21
[Traits] [Skills] [Magic] Bingo! No wonder why she could barely move and fell asleep so often. Her stats sucked! At least her intelligence appeared to be high. Hoping this was like all the games she had heard way too much about, she started mentally clicking on each word to see if it would reveal any information.
Level (10/100)
Health Your current physical condition.
Strength Your physical power.
Constitution Your endurance and amount of health.
Dexterity Your agility, balance, coordination, and reflexes.
Intelligence Your logic, knowledge, and memory.
Wisdom Your perception, insight, and mana.
That was a little helpful. Sarah wondered how she would increase the stats on her sheet. Hopefully, it was as easy as exercising and doing mind teasers to gain more stats. It was a little odd that she had a health amount but no mana amount. Magic was one of the options she had, so it had to exist. She decided to click the three options she had below her stat sheet. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
[Traits]
Linguist The ability to learn written and spoken language quickly.
Limitless There are no limits on what you can learn.
It seemed her knack for languages would follow her to this world. She hoped it wouldn''t take her too long to puzzle out the local language. Her parents were supposed to help their children learn words, right? The limitless trait seemed a little odd. She couldn¡¯t think of a reason for there to be a limit on what she could learn in the first place. She wondered if she could find a manual to help her understand the rules of this world.
[Magic]
Well, that one was blank. Sarah guessed it kind of made sense. She didn¡¯t have magic from before, so why would she have it now? It was exciting that magic was a possibility. She would have to pay attention to see when other people were using it around her to see if she could learn it from them. Or maybe it was like some books she had read where the main character just had to focus hard and sense the magic in the air to gain magic. She hoped it would be easy for her to pick up.
The next time she woke up, it was due to hunger. It was a common occurrence these days for her, unfortunately. She felt bad for her new mother, who had to constantly get up with her when she was hungry or soiled. The house they were staying in felt almost like a hotel room. There was a bed, a desk and chair, and an opaque window in the room we were living in. Except for a few paintings on the walls, their room was bare. Every time she would wake up in the middle of the night, her mother would have to light a candle to see. The one time she was able to see out of the open window, she could see that they were on the second floor of the building. There was a fountain in the middle of a central courtyard, and she could see more rooms on the opposite side of it. The walls both inside and outside of the building were composed of plain rock. The rocks looked expertly placed, but they were not the modern-day stone bricks she was used to seeing. The whole area gave her the feeling of living in the past. There have been very few visitors that have come into their room. The first person she saw was a person who brought her mother meals. After the lady delivered the food, she would clean the room by emptying the chamber pot and removing any soiled diaper cloths. She would also stock their supply of clean diaper cloths and make sure there was fruit available. The odd thing about the cleaning lady was that she never spoke to her mother unless it was to answer a question. The second type of visitor they received was who she assumed was a doctor of some sort. The man in a red shirt was quick and to the point with his examinations. It felt like examining women and babies was a routine for him with how efficient he was. She only saw him the first day and then a few days later, so she guessed they were both healthy.
When she was not sleeping, she was working on gaining more skills. There wasn¡¯t a whole lot she could do as a newborn baby physically, so she tried to think of mental skills. So far, her efforts had granted her stats instead of skills, but she would not complain about that. She had gained two intelligence and two wisdom over the last couple of days. The stats didn¡¯t seem to make her any more intelligent, but she liked to see progress regardless. It could have just been a case of it being a gradual increase, so she did not notice a difference. She made a point of exercising her arms and legs every time she was awake to get those muscles to respond to her better. It was difficult for her to keep her movements up because she was constantly running out of energy and falling asleep. Today when she was doing her exercises, she received a bump to the stats she was working towards. [Strength +1] [Constitution +1] [Dexterity +1] She started giggling after the message popped up, which inadvertently got her mother¡¯s attention. It was not a bad thing because it meant she got another meal. When her mother picked her up, she smiled and asked her something. Based on the tone, it was probably something along the lines of ¡°what¡¯s so funny little one?¡± Her mother spent a lot of time sitting and writing at the desk in the room. She had a journal that she was often writing in. Sometimes she would bring out a stone tablet from her bag to study. The tablet looked like something that would come out of an ancient ruin back in her old world. She wondered if that was where this tablet had come from. If it was an artifact, she pondered why it was in a bag instead of a protective case inside a research facility. She also wondered why she had not seen a father figure yet. Was her poor mother going to have to raise her alone? Her mother was a beautiful woman. She looked like she could have been a college roommate while she was still attending university. Her age was probably somewhere around twenty-five. She had long blonde hair that she always kept braided in a french braid down her back. Her eyes were an unreal shade of emerald green. Her body was slim, with hints of muscle on her legs and arms. The only clothing she wore was a yellow dress when she was not in her sleeping shift. She wondered if they were poor and that was the only dress her mother owned or if they were in some sort of prison. She didn¡¯t think they were in jail because her mother had opened her door a few times to ask for things.
After being in their room for what felt like a month, she woke one morning to something new. A loud trumpet-like sound was playing something very close to the Reveille song could hear in early morning military camps from before. She, of course, started crying because the noise had scared her, and being in a child¡¯s body was messing with her. Her mother quickly picked her up and soothed her while she tried to pack up their belongings. After feeding and changing her, she was placed on the bed while her mother packed their belongings. It only took her a few minutes to have all of their possessions packed up and sitting by the door. They were sitting on the bed when somebody came into their room to collect their bags. They followed their baggage down a very long hallway until they got to a set of stairs. At the staircase, another person was waiting to help her mother down the stairs. Once they had made it down the spiral staircase, they walked into a spacious room that held multiple chairs facing the same direction. Her mother took a seat near the back of the nearly filled room. There was a podium in the front of the room with a raised table right next to it. It was time for them to hurry up and wait while more women with babies were led into the room and seated in the chairs around them. It was the first time she had been outside of their room since she was born, and she was excited to see so many other people. Gazing out into the crowd, she noticed that hair color was not limited to the shades back on Earth. She could see people had hair of every color of the rainbow. The only color that was not present was black, but she didn¡¯t think the color was impossible because someone was very dark brown. The lady next to them had purple hair and grey eyes. It seemed like their skin color was similar to what she was used to seeing on Earth. Skin tones ranged from pale white to milk chocolate brown. Her mother¡¯s skin was a tanned bronze shade. It was hard for her to judge height with everybody seated, but there did not seem to be any significant discrepancies in the height of the seated women. The people standing along the back wall were all around the same height of five and a half feet for the women, and the men were as tall as six feet. One thing she did find odd was that everyone sitting in the room was wearing the same cut of clothing. Every woman with a child was wearing a maxi dress. It was floor-length and flowy but more fitted at the top with short sleeves and a slight v neck. There were various colors, but all were the same cut. There were several women wearing shift dresses lined up along the back wall. This dress was boxy and sleeveless, almost like a flour sack that was sewen to look like a dress cut off just below the knees. She did not see a single woman in a pair of pants. The men in the back of the room were all wearing vests and roughspun pants. While the people on the back wall had colorful clothing, it was all muted colors compared to the women with babies seated throughout the room. Chapter 3 - Heading Home The hall was oddly silent. The only noise in the hall was the sounds of babies gurgling. If a baby started crying, their mother was quick to quiet them. It was odd to me that none of the mothers were talking amongst themselves. Someone important must be coming to speak at the podium is the only thing I could think of as a reason for the silence. After what felt like hours but was probably only a half-hour after the last mother was seated, the trumpet played again. This time it sounded like it was announcing royalty. There was movement at the far wall from us. Four heavily armored men in full plate armor surrounded a man in silken robes lined with gold thread. He did not have a crown, but everyone in the room either bowed or lowered their head when he entered. I was amazed at how well the plate armor fit each of the guards. It was like each piece was made for them and fit like a second skin. There was no clanging of metal that you would expect to hear when someone was wearing full plate armor. There is magic in this world based on what my status sheet said. Maybe they have people who can shape metal and enchant it not to make noise? All of the armor was black and very little could be seen of the guards¡¯ faces. Only their eyes and mouth were left exposed. The man in expensive silken robes carried himself like everyone around him were lesser beings. It was evident by the expression on his face that he did not want to be here. His robes were a royal blue color and were of a cut you would see on any storybook wizard from my old world. Symbols were embroidered in gold on his robes. Of the symbols that I could make out, there seemed to be eight that occurred throughout the garment: a diamond, teardrop, square, triangle, leaf, star, heart, and a swirl. The needlework looked like it may have taken months to finish by hand. As the man in robes made it to the podium, I noticed that he had a few wrinkles starting on his face. He still had a full head of red hair cut in the pompadour style that Elvis rocked when he was around in my old world. When he started to speak, he had a deep gravelly voice. When he finished speaking, everyone in the room repeated the last four words. The first woman with her child was escorted to the stage after the speech. The escort took the child and then began to undress him. The child was then laid on a blanket on the table while the robed man proceeded to inspect every inch of the child¡¯s skin. There did not seem to be any malice in the searching, but he was very thorough, searching even the child¡¯s hair looking for any marks or blemishes. When the older man was satisfied, something was said to the mother, and then the mother and baby were escorted out of the room. It was going to be a long day for me. We were sitting near the back of the room. I was also not looking forward to being naked in front of so many people. After about half of the room had been called up and escorted away, the older man found a mark on one of the babies. It was a tiny little green mark shaped like a leaf. The mother burst into tears and appeared to start begging. The older man showed no sympathy as the child was taken away from his mother in a different direction from where everyone else left. The guards ultimately had to escort the crying mother off to the direction of where we came down the stairs. At this point, I was baffled and starting to get worried. I may not have known my new mother for long, but she has been very kind to me. I don¡¯t want to be separated from her. There was no further excitement as the mothers and children in front of us had their turn. All of the mothers and babies could stay together and exit the hall in the same direction as everyone else. I was worried at one point when I saw one of the babies had a pretty large birthmark on his hand. It was not shaped like anything I could make out, and the older man did not seem interested in such a mark. That baby was let go with the rest. My mother and I were escorted to the stage next. I was stripped of all of my clothing and inspected from head to toe. How could a man have hands that cold? After he was done, I was dressed and picked up by my mother as we were escorted in the direction of everyone else. It seems I did not have whatever the man in robes was looking for. For once, I was thankful for being ordinary. As we followed the path the other women and babies traveled before us, we came into a room with almost floor-to-ceiling opaque windows. On both sides of the doorway, the windows had been tinted the colors of the rainbow, starting with red at the top and going all the way to purple at the bottom. It made the room very pretty. All of the windows I have seen so far have been almost impossible to see through and very thick. It is almost like they use sheets of quartz instead of glass to create the windows. We made our way outside, and I was instantly blinded by the sun. My mother quickly put a blanket over my head to keep me from too much exposure. Of course, that had the added side effect of me not seeing anything that was going on. As she kept walking, I could hear the murmuring of many voices speaking at once. There are many joyous voices in the crowd and giggling babies. I could also hear the deeper voice of men in the group, which piqued my interest. Up until this moment, I have seen very few men. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. As we walk through the crowd, I try my hardest to translate what is said around me. Up until now, I have had very few examples of this language to try to piece it together. The language sounds melodious and almost powerful. If I had to compare it to any language I know, I would say it was Italian, but I know enough Italian to know this is not the same language. It is a very snappy language that rolls off the tongue quite easily. Now all I need to do is figure out what the words mean. I was suddenly engulfed in an unexpected hug. On one side was my mother and on the other was a strange man. He put his head under the blanket with me and started talking baby talk to me. The only word that I have heard consistently so far is Violet. Maybe that is my new name? It sounds pretty, at the very least. After a little bit of talking at me, the man removes himself from under my blanket. I can feel that he is still hugging my mom as they both walk somewhere. I need to get rid of this blanket! After some squirming on my part, I saw a little more of my surroundings. Only what is directly in front of us, but I¡¯ll take what I can get. The ground we walk on seems to be paved with cobblestones. They look pretty packed down, and I don¡¯t see any missing or moving. As we made it to a shaded area, I was relieved when my mother pulled the blanket off my head. What I can see is a line of horses attached to carriages. I assumed they were horses initially because that is what I expected to see, but something is very off about them. As we get closer to them, I can see that the horses are muzzled and don¡¯t have hooves but clawed feet, as you may see on a lion. The more I look at them, the more I see a large cat instead of a horse. Several straps are holding the animal in place. The carriage that we stop at has yellow banners hanging from it. It looks like my mother¡¯s baggage has already been packed on the back. The only way I can tell is my mom¡¯s bags have yellow embroidery circles and triangles on them. After speaking briefly with the man in the driver¡¯s seat, my parents both get into the carriage. It seems like this will be another hurry-up and wait for activity as we don¡¯t appear to be going anywhere fast. While we wait for the crowd to disperse, I take the time to inspect the new male figure in my life. I assume he is my father by the way my mother keeps hugging him. He looks to be around the same age as my mother. He is wearing a yellow button-down shirt that looks soft enough to have been made from cotton. There is nothing special about his pants other than they are black with no signs of wear. Maybe we are going to a luau? My parents are wearing matching outfits. I am still wearing an oversized white dress, so perhaps no luau. One shocking feature about my father is that he has orange hair. The orange hair strangely complements his pale blue eyes. My mother hands me over to him, and it is almost comical how gentle he is trying to be with me. I would not describe him as a bodybuilder, but you can tell he is a very physical person. His muscles are well defined. Looking at the gap in his shirt, he does not have a farmer¡¯s tan like my mother does. I will need to make it one of my top goals to find a mirror. I hope that I don¡¯t have orange hair, but it is too short for me to tell without a mirror right now. The carriage starts moving after about a half-hour of waiting. My mom and dad have been using the time to catch up with each other. While they are otherwise engaged, I take the opportunity to look at my status to see my changes.
Level 1
Health 30/30
Strength 2
Constitution 3
Dexterity 2
Intelligence 34
Wisdom 23
[Traits] [Skills] [Magic] I have only gained a little bit, but I am a growing girl, and I will be working those numbers to the max every time I get a chance. Skills must not be easy to gain in this world. I started reciting all of the different languages I have learned, but it seems those don¡¯t count. Other than math, I can¡¯t think of any skills that I can get just in my head. I plan to try sensing mana or finding my zen next time I am left alone for any amount of time. I wonder if meditation is a thing in this world. I still want magic, so my main focus is going to be trying to sense mana. The sound of light conversation and the steady rocking of the carriage has me drifting off to dream of the future. Chapter 4 - New Home The carriage ride felt never-ending. We must have stopped overnight at five different inns along the way. During the day, my parents would trade-off holding me while the other got out a portable desk to write on. My dad finally realized I was not made of glass, and holding me started to feel more natural. He liked to hold me up, so I was standing on my feet to watch as my mom worked on her stone tablet. In this regard, I was delighted. By him helping me stand, I was able to level up some of my stats along the journey much faster than doing them independently. [Strength +1] [Constitution +1] I didn¡¯t level up dexterity yet, but I will start using my hands more in the future and see if that makes a difference. When my parents are not working on the stone tablets, they are always talking or singing. Their harmonies brought a tear to my eye on some days. I hoped singing was going to become a part of my everyday life going forward. On our sixth day of travel, I could feel our carriage slow down and start taking more turns. It felt like we were navigating in a city, but it couldn¡¯t have been later than mid-day, so I don¡¯t think it is time to stop at an inn yet. When we arrived at our current stop, my mother carried me inside a large building with those colorful quarts panels along the sides of the door. My father follows us in holding a bundle of papers. When we arrive at the desk inside, we are greeted by a very bored-looking clerk. He takes the papers from my father, asks a few questions, and then returns a small portion of the documents to my father. The clerk looked at me several times while he questioned my parents, so I think they registered me? They must have said all the right things because we returned to the carriage not long after entering the building. [Intelligence +1] [Wisdom +1] It appears my deductive reasoning is correct in this case. We were not in the carriage too long before it made another stop. This time when we exit the carriage, we are in a residential neighborhood. Every house on this street looks the same. There are about two feet of stone at the bottom of the homes that are then finished with another eight feet of logs stacked vertically to create an A-frame house and roof. Each cottage has two quartz windows on either side of the front door. There are about twelve feet between each of the places but no fences around them. As we enter the house, I see a fireplace on the left built next to a kitchen area with a counter and some cabinets for storage. There is also a table with two chairs not far from the kitchen for dining. Across from the kitchen, there is a living and working area with two desks and comfortable chairs, and a couch. The walls inside the house are all slanted inward the higher they go because of the A-frame design. In the very back third of the house, a wall has been erected with two doors a few feet apart. I am going to guess those are bedrooms. There is a ceiling 8 feet above us, but I cannot see any stairs to get up into the attic at this time. After being fed and changed, I am carried into the leftmost room and placed in a crib to take a nap. I can see that my room also has a quartz window for light, but my mother closes a curtain to mostly block out the light. It is the first time I have ever been alone in this new life. I will enjoy the freedom of being unobserved to attempt more complex things that a baby would not usually do just as soon as I¡¯m done with my nap.
Level 1
Health 40/40
Strength 3
Constitution 4
Dexterity 2 Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Intelligence 35
Wisdom 24
[Traits] [Skills] [Magic]
After a few days at home, we started to get into a routine. In the mornings, my mother will wake me up to feed and change me. Then she will cook breakfast for the two adults in the house. After my father is done eating, he leaves the house to go off to work. My mother then cleans the morning dishes and then bundles me up in a carrier to go to her workplace. I use the term carrier loosely. It is closer to an oversized basket than any modern-day carrier I am used to seeing. My mother sets my carrier down near a wall when she gets to her area inside a research warehouse. The stone tablets she has been studying all this time are copies of originals hanging on the walls in the warehouse. Now and then, she trades out the documents she is working on for different ones. They must be tough to decode because she has been working on them since I was born. There are quite a few other people in the warehouse who come up to greet us. The only thing that stands out is they are all wearing yellow. I am beginning to think it is a uniform or dress code that everyone must adhere to. Yellow does not work for all skin tones, and it looks plain terrible on some people in this warehouse. I was able to see my reflection in one of the glass cases that house the original artifacts. It is the first time I¡¯ve seen clear glass or quartz in this world, so it must be costly to make. I lucked out and did not have orange hair! It looks like my hair is blonde, just like my mother¡¯s, and my eyes are a fascinating shade of purple. After my mother is done with work, we walk back to the house. Well, she walks, and I am lugged around in my carrier. Strollers may be a good invention for this world. We get home before my father does almost every day. Mother starts dinner and often has it done or almost done when my father gets home. I am not sure where the ingredients for our dinners come from, we have never gone to a market of any sort, but every three days, there is a fresh batch of groceries on our counter when we get home. I am a little weirded out at a random person coming into our house while we are away. There are no locks on any doors I have seen in our home. My father often comes home covered in dust and dirt. I can tell from my mother¡¯s expression and her always pointing to the wash bucket outside that he is to clean off the dust and dirt before coming into the house. I think he is constantly breaking her rules to pick on her playfully. He always has the most innocent grin on his face every time she catches him not washing up before coming into the house. He likes to wink at me like he shares the joke with me when my mother is not looking. After dinner has been consumed, my father jumps up to clean the dishes. My mother takes this time to pay attention to me, making sure I am fed and clean. I try not to cry unless I am hungry or dirty to save my mother as much headache as possible. It is difficult for me to be so dependent on another person. Once the adults are done eating dinner and the dishes are clean, they each have a craft they are working on most nights. My mother is often humming while doing needlepoint embroidery. She stitches geometric symbols in artistic patterns. She has embroidered little yellow triangles and circles on the neck of my white dresses. My father often spends his time carving pieces of wood or whittling. The dishes and utensils that they use to eat off of are all wood. They are polished and lacquered in something, so they remain smooth. There is a carving around the inside of our door frame that leads outside. It depicts the eight symbols that were on silken robe guy¡¯s robes. Each symbol is painted a different color. Red for the diamond, blue for the teardrop, orange for the square, yellow for the triangle, green for the leaf, purple for the star, white for the heart, and black for the swirl. The green leaf stands out the most for me because it looks almost exactly like the mark that the child who was taken away from his mother had. We did nine days of this routine before my parents didn¡¯t work on the tenth day. To say my parents didn¡¯t go to work is correct, but they still worked. My mother spent this time doing the laundry and beating the rugs in the house. Behind the house, there was a communal clothesline that went the whole length of our housing block. Our neighbors must not have the same day off as we did because nobody else was out hanging laundry when my mom was, and there wasn¡¯t any laundry on the line that I could see. While my mother was working in the house, my father was working outside of it. Quite a ways behind our house, there was a communal woodpile that he was working at. Foresters must chop the trees down and just drag them behind the house for the places to make use of. He was stripped down to his waist, working with an ax to cut the trees into firewood. When he had a large enough stack of firewood to last us nine days stacked up beside our house, he started a long process of getting water from the well down the street to fill our water barrel. I wonder how the water is kept sanitary in an open barrel like that. It has a lid, but it looked like it only loosely sealed the barrel when not in use. Something to inquire about once I¡¯ve learned the language, I guess. Another thing to note, there was no bathroom in our house. I have not seen any chamber pots inside, so I assume one of the buildings must be a communal restroom behind our house. It looked like there was one building for every three places. I am around two months old now, and I am starting to pick up on bits and pieces of the language. My father¡¯s name is Zarek, and my mother¡¯s name is Lyra. They have named me Violet. I can think of many other names I would like to be called, but I am thankful that Violet is something I can live with. Chapter 5 - Noble Jerk It has been five months since we got home, and as best as I can figure, I am six months old today. I feel like I have accomplished quite a bit now that I have had some time alone to work on my skills and stats. Sensing anything abnormal or even close to mana has been an impossible goal for me to achieve. I still try it, but I have stopped dedicating as much time to it as I¡¯m starting to feel it is a lost cause. I wasn¡¯t born with magic, or I would have something under my magic tab. I have gained and leveled quite a few skills these last couple of months. I am most proud of learning the Sneak skill. There must be different tiers of skills because instead of giving me the expected ten experience, I received 20 when I discovered the Sneak skill.
[Skills]
Mathematics 10
Acting 3
Meditation 7
Language - Common 5
Sneak 1
Every night before falling asleep, I would do math problems in my head. The more complicated I can do, the faster I seem to level. Whenever I level a what I will call a basic level skill, I would gain ten exp. But the amount appears to be cumulative because on the second rank up, I got 20 experience, and on the third, I got 30 experience. I ended up receiving the Acting skill while we were at my mom¡¯s work. One of her coworkers was trying to play with me, and I had to internally roll my eyes and play as would be expected a baby would do. I got Meditation by accident. I was trying to sense the mana around me and ended up entering a zen-like state of mind. It feels like that skill has helped me accept my new reality and focus more on my future. If I meditate before I try to learn something new, I tend to have tremendous success. It has earned me quite a few Intelligence and Wisdom points. Getting older means that I have gained enough muscle coordination to crawl and become more active. My crib is large enough to pull myself up and begin to walk around at night to strengthen my legs. It is tough to walk when your muscles don¡¯t have any muscle memory to keep you upright. My breakthrough in Sneak came when my father put me to bed one night and didn¡¯t pull up the crib wall to keep me inside at night. My parents don¡¯t realize how mobile I am yet. I was able to get out of bed and walk as quietly as possible around the room. I think intent had a lot to do with gaining that skill as well.
Level 4
Experience (1060/1500)
Health 80/80
Stat Points 15
Strength 6
Constitution 8
Dexterity 5
Intelligence 44
Wisdom 32
[Traits] [Skills] [Magic] Every time I gained a level, I received five stat points. At first, I was excited because I thought I could just dump those points into my strength and dexterity, but my attempts so far have been foiled. I can¡¯t even click on the stat points word for more information. I will assume it is a safety system to avoid having children allocating their stat points without understanding what they are doing.
I have gotten to the point where I understand the local language, which according to my skills, is called Common. As best as I can understand it, everybody is color-coded based on what their job is. There are three different ¡°classes¡± of people. For ease of my understanding, I will call them nobility, ordinary people, and servants. I have seen very few people I believe to be nobility, but they always wear some type of expensive robe. I want to say that the armored guards also fit into the bottom of this category as well. For ordinary people, the color you wear is based on your job. My parents are both researchers, so they wear yellow. The people who deliver our food wear purple. The deeper the shade of color you wear, the more critical you are in that bracket. I have not worked out all of the details on which jobs get which colors, but I know for sure nothing like this would ever work in America. There would be riots if one day the president came out and said, ¡°Everyone who does this type of job has to wear only this color.¡± Servants are a group of people I have not seen very much of as well. I have mainly seen this group back in the building where I was born. There are no servants out on the streets or anywhere near the research facility where my mother works. I hope in my heart that this is because there are not very many of these types of jobs, but the pessimist in me believes otherwise. I have not been where any nobility lives, but I would not be shocked if they had servants. I expected that there would be a King or Emperor ruling over us with this type of system, but from what I have heard, we are ruled by a council of nobles known as ¡°The Enlightened Eight.¡± I have not heard very much about this council except in whispers. It seems they are feared rather than loved by my mom¡¯s coworkers.
Today is the day! I have decided that today at breakfast, I will hit my parents with my first words. Up until this point, I have given plenty of smiles and giggles but no actual words. I am now six months old, and while it is probably early, I still want to interact with people again. I don¡¯t want to be pegged as a genius child by what I have heard about the society that I am living in. I am going to take it slow and work up to more effective forms of communication. When my mother comes into the room to wake me for breakfast, I put on the brightest smile I can manage when I see her. She, of course, smiles right back at me. I have learned the more I smile, the more everyone around me smiles too. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. My father brought home a new highchair for me to sit at the table with the adults in the kitchen. They are starting to supplement my meals with mashed vegetables and fruit. I enjoy the fruit, but some vegetables are just disgusting. My mother set me down in my chair and went about starting breakfast for us. As my dad joins us at the table, I make sure to greet him with an excited squeal and a huge smile. They are both putty in my little hands. I never know which parent will feed me breakfast, so I have decided that the one who feeds me today will get a mama or a dada. Sorry mom, it looks like dad is going to win the first baby word. As my dad picks up my bowl to feed me, I smile and say, ¡°dada.¡± And the crowd goes wild! I don¡¯t think I have seen a bigger smile on his face. He makes sure to rub it in to mother that he got dada first. Well, I couldn¡¯t have that! I started up a string of baby talk and made sure to mix mama in there, too, just to soften the blow.
I have gotten too big for the basket-like carrier my mother used to bring me to work in. By my reckoning, I should be having my two-year birthday soon. Now when it is time for work, she just carries me in her arms. There is a playpen near her workspace where the other children are all kept together during the day. I use this time to work on my acting by copying what the children are doing closest to my age. It is a little tricky because the next oldest child, Sky, is about two months older than I am. There is also a little girl named Jade that is six months younger than I am. I¡¯ve been basing my actions off of Sky but making sure to wait to copy anything he does for at least a month after he does it. I never thought being a baby was going to be this much of a balancing act! Three other children come to work with their mothers. I have not interacted with them very much because their mothers are still kept in their carrier baskets. One of the perks of being in the playpen is within view of the large stones that everyone is trying to decipher. I have been having fun trying to solve them as well when the others are sleeping. The stone tablets looked a lot like the hieroglyphs found in ancient Egypt, which is intriguing because I took an entire class on that writing style. I am still looking for some kind of Rosetta Stone where the exact phrase is translated into multiple languages or possibly system help. As soon as I got the first skill point in the Common language, learning the rest got significantly more straightforward. Just as I was drifting off for my afternoon nap, a trumpet started playing. The other kids in the playpen with me were startled awake and immediately started crying. I found it a ridiculous thing to cry over. Not wanting to stand out, I started crying as well. Our mothers immediately came over to quiet us down, so I got a front-row view in my mother¡¯s arms of the noble that had just shown up. Everyone bowed as a young man in yellow robes entered the research facility. Following him was an ancient man in dark yellow robes along with several servants. All of the servants were wearing pale yellow shift dresses or vests. The two nobles ignored us entirely and started talking in another language between themselves. They walked up and down the aisles, looking at possible translations for each tablet. Their expressions were getting angrier and angrier as they continued. After they finished inspecting each tablet, the young noble addressed the room in Common. ¡°You should be ashamed to call yourselves researchers! How long could it possibly take to translate these tablets?!¡± He looked like he would continue his angry rant, but the older noble placed his hand on him to stop. The ancient noble was next to address the room. ¡°It appears that babymaking has made you soft and dull. Go home! Starting tomorrow, you will all start your journey to report directly to the site and continue your translation. I don¡¯t mean the near site. I want you in the heart of the ancient ruins. Perhaps being in that ancient ruin will inspire you.¡± He paused to take a breath. ¡°I will make sure that your husbands are transferred with you to keep you on track. I hope you enjoy living in a tent because you are not allowed to come back until those tablets have been translated!¡± One of the newer women who had just delivered a newborn baby spoke up from the back. ¡°But sir, the heart of the ruins is two months travel from here by carriage. How will we feed ourselves and look after our young on our own?¡± ¡°GUARD!¡± the young noble was quick to yell. A duo of guards rushed into the room and bowed to the nobles. ¡°Arrest this woman and see to it her husband is reassigned.¡± He glared at her for even daring to question orders. ¡°Are there any others who find this journey too difficult and would prefer to scrub floors?¡± All of the women were silent at this question. After nobody else spoke up, the entire noble party exited the building with the woman crying in tow. One of the guards had picked up her baby and was following behind the group. I wanted to ask my mom what would happen to her, but I felt that question was a little too intuitive for a two-year-old to be asking.
My mother was in tears when my father got home. It was clear that he had heard about their new assignment as he got home just after noon, which was quite a bit earlier than usual. He immediately went to my mother and engulfed her in a hug. ¡°It will be alright. We are blessed that we get to stay together for this assignment.¡± He waved me over to him so I could be included in the group hug. ¡°I spoke with the assignment master before I came home. He said that he has orders to supply wagons and supplies for five families to live in the heart of the ruin.¡± My father said. He explained how we could expect a resupply wagon once a month and that they were to report progress to the wagon master each month when we got our supplies. We could build housing for ourselves, but the tents would be sent for our initial arrival. I was put to bed early that night, so my parents could pack their belongings and have some alone time. I could still hear them through the door, but for the most part, they were boring. They kept talking about memories that they had in the house and how much they will miss it. I, too, would miss this house, but the thought of living right next to an ancient ruin was a dream come true for me. I couldn¡¯t wait to explore all of the nooks and crannies the grownups couldn¡¯t fit in.
I have grown a lot in the last year and a half. I am most proud of my Visualization skill. The best way I can describe it is like having a photographic memory. I just have to look at something for a bit while studying every detail I can, and then later, I can bring that same image back up in my mind. The more I practice, the more information I can remember about something. I¡¯ve been using this skill on the tablets in the research facility and have reached the point where I can near-perfectly remember everything about them. The other exciting thing I found out about my skills is that my Common language skill maxed out at 10. The system agrees that I fully understand that language now. I have even caught myself thinking in Common sometimes. I am not sure how I feel about that. I know I need to embrace my new life here, but it feels like I am losing something important to my identity to no longer think in English. When I reached level 5, a new line popped up on my status for skill points. I got one point at levels 5, 10, and 15 for a total of 3 points saved up now. I cannot click on the name to explain what the points are for or how to use them. Yelling in my mind that I am not a child has not changed the system¡¯s mind about locking me out of using those points. I guess it was kind of childish to yell that in the first place.
Level 15
Age 2
Experience (11040/12000)
Health 140/140
Stat Points 70
Skill Points 3
Strength 10
Constitution 14
Dexterity 11
Intelligence 50
Wisdom 42
[Traits] [Skills] [Magic]
[Basic Skills]
Acting 21
Climbing 15
Language - Common MAX
Mathematics 20
Meditation 17
Running 5
[Novice Skills]
Sneak 10
Visualization 14
[Traits]
Linguist The ability to learn written and spoken language quickly.
Limitless There are no limits on what you can learn.
[Magic]
Chapter 6 - Traveling The next morning came far too early. Before the sun had even touched the horizon, a carriage and a wagon were sitting in front of our house. They tried to let me sleep longer, but there was just too much noise for me to stay asleep. ¡°Violet, come here I have an important job for you to do.¡± My mother said when she saw me peeking outside my door. I walked up to her and she picked me up and put me on a chair in the kitchen. She then placed a bowl of porridge in front of me. ¡°I need you to eat this entire bowl of porridge.¡± I made a face at her and she chuckled. ¡°We are going to have a long day so you mustn¡¯t be hungry.¡± As I sat and ate my porridge, I watched my mother and father make several trips in and out of the house. There were several wooden boxes and cloth bags that my parents had packed last night. After the majority of our belongings were packed, my mother went into my room and came out with the rest of my clothes and bedding. It looked like everything small and portable was being packed in our wagon. The larger furniture was being left alone, but all of the smaller items were coming with us. When I finished eating, my bowl and spoon were packed as well after a quick cleaning. While they were occupied, I attempted to use my sneak skill to get outside to see what was going on. I think my mom was waiting for me because she immediately caught me when I exited the house. ¡°Not so fast, young lady.¡± She caught me and carried me to the carriage. ¡°Do not leave this carriage. Your father and I are packing up the last few things and then we will be on our way.¡± After she shut the door, I was left alone to explore my new space. The carriage cabin was small. There was one door on the left side of the carriage. On either side of the door were windows with heavy curtains drawn across them. There was enough room for four adults to sit facing each other on padded cushioned seats. On the right side of the carriage, there was a table on a hinge secured to the wall with a latch. Once the latch was moved, the table should cover two-thirds of the cabin. The latch is too high for my two-year-old body to reach or I would have already been playing... I mean investigating it for science! There are also two more curtain-covered windows on the right side of the cabin. After hours (a few minutes) of waiting in the carriage, my parents joined me in the cabin and we started moving. It did not take long before we reached a clearing outside of town where the other families that were going with us were gathering. Looking out the window, I started counting the extra wagons that were coming with us. Every family had a carriage and a wagon with their personal belongings. In addition to those, there were 5 extra wagons packed full of supplies in the clearing with us. ¡°Mommy, what kind of animals are those?¡± I asked, pointing at the horse-shaped cats that this world used to pull vehicles. ¡°Those animals are called amberclaws. We have domesticated them for thousands of years to train them to pull our wagons. In the wilds, you can still find their feral cousins.¡± ¡°Why does he have a funny thing on his face?¡± I asked again. I am enjoying the ability to ask why a hundred times a day. I speak a little bit better than Sky does but I cant easily dumb down my words. I am still very careful to not use big words. After a sigh, my mother answered, ¡°Just because an amberclaw is domesticated doesn¡¯t mean it is not dangerous. I don¡¯t want you to go anywhere near them. Amberclaws eat meat and you would be a quick snack for one of them.¡± I make sure to play around and make a scared face. [Skill increase: Acting +1 (22)] It has been a while since I have gotten a skill up in Acting. I look forward to many hours of one-on-one time with my parents to continue to level that skill. Level 22 of that skill gave me 2530 experience points. I have gotten to the point where I have almost convinced myself that I am a child with some of the stuff I have said. I can only allow myself out of character when I am alone. I don¡¯t want to be taken away from my parents for being too smart. I need to think of a way to ask about the nobles.
When the last family arrives at our gathering point, we all get out of the carriage for a group meeting. A large brown-haired man is standing on a log so he can be seen as he addresses the group. ¡°Listen up folks. We have a long journey ahead of us and I have no doubts that our children will drive us insane by the time we get to where we are going.¡± The group chuckled at this. ¡°Our esteemed noble has put me in charge of this expedition and I want to make sure we get there safely so we can come back as soon as possible. We will be stopping at inns every night for the first month of our trip, but unfortunately, the last half of our journey is all wilderness. Make sure you know where your tent has been packed and if you are missing any supplies be sure to get them in one of the towns we stop in.¡± ¡°Thank you, Corrin! I am happy I wasn¡¯t picked to lead.¡± A red-haired man named Ardon jokes. Jade giggled as her father¡¯s beard tickled her neck. Corrin is Sky¡¯s father and the oldest of our group. I would place his age around 35. Sky is his second child, his first child, Amanda, was taken to boarding school when she turned twelve years old. From what I have overheard, all children are taken from their parents to attend school when they turn twelve. Once a month, children on good behavior are allowed to go home to visit with their parents for a few days. Amanda will not be able to see her parents for a long time because of this assignment. ¡°Alright you jokers, everyone get loaded up, and get this show on the road!¡± Corrin said while chuckling. And so begins this nightmarish journey. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
The journey did not take two months, it took three. One of the bridges that we were going to use was washed out causing us to backtrack and go out of our way to cross at a different crossing. Rain was a constant companion for us, it must have rained a third of the time we were traveling through the wilds. It was a very difficult journey for all involved. I may be 26 mentally (24 years from before), but my body was that of a two-year-old and I had WAY too much energy to be cramped in a carriage for the entire day. The months here are longer than those I was used to on Earth. There were still twelve months, but each month lasted forty days. That makes each year 480 days so while I was only two by their counting, I was a lot closer to three by my old standards. We made regular stops for restroom breaks and to stretch our legs but there is only so much running around you can do on a ten-minute stop. We ate porridge for breakfast and stew for dinner, but we did not stop to cook lunch so we snacked on strips of jerky. Each day, my parents would trade-off trying to teach me my numbers and letters. It was very difficult for me to not let on that I had learned my numbers already and that after the first few times of them showing me letters, I was proficient with them. They had brought this world¡¯s version of a blackboard with them so they could let me draw and learn to write. This allowed me to gain Drawing and Writing skills. I have not written more than just letters and some small words that they wrote for me to copy. My name was one of the first words they had me write a million times. When I was not writing on the blackboard tablet, they entertained me with puzzles. The geometric-shaped pieces were painted and wooden. It looked homemade because the painting on the finished puzzles left much to be desired. I had to match the pieces based on color because the picture was hard to make out even after I had completed it. I spent much of my puzzle time daydreaming while bringing up images of the tablets I had memorized with Visualization. I could not translate the tablets yet, but it was a brain-consuming activity I could do without giving myself away.
Level 17
Age 2
Experience (15100/15300)
Health 150/150
Stat Points 80
Skill Points 3
Strength 10
Constitution 15
Dexterity 12
Intelligence 53
Wisdom 45
[Traits] [Skills] [Magic]
[Basic Skills]
Acting 28
Climbing 15
Drawing 5
Language - Common MAX
Mathematics 20
Meditation 17
Running 5
Writing 3
[Novice Skills]
Sneak 10
Visualization 20
I feel like this journey has been holding me back from advancing some of my more physical skills. Sleeping in the same room or tent as my parents has curtailed my after-hours activities. Tonight is our last night on the road. The adults were talking about reaching some kind of barrier tomorrow.
Our day starts as it normally does, we wake up, pack up our bags and then I follow mother over to the cookfire to get breakfast. The women have a rotation on who gets to cook for each meal to share the chore. The weather has been kind to us this morning and the sun has come out. While the women and children are gathered at the cookfire, the men are breaking down the tents and storing luggage in the wagons. After everyone has eaten, we climb into our carriages and start the caravan moving for the day. We had been moving for about two hours when I started to feel static in the air. I could hear the other children crying in the distance but decided not to copy them. I started slapping my arms and said ¡°What is that?¡± It was my father who answered, ¡°We are on the outskirts of the barrier. As far as we can tell it is not harmful, just uncomfortable. It will start to get a little stronger as we move closer to the ruin, but I have read that after a day you get used to the feeling and it no longer bothers you.¡± He went on to explain that we should be thankful for that barrier because it keeps all types of animals from venturing too close. Not even rodents or spiders have been found in the ruins. It took a little past midday for us to reach our destination. My skin was bothering me, but it had already gotten to a manageable level to tolerate. Mother was talking to father on the way in that she heard the barrier was the reason a permanent outpost has never been built close to this site. Many people could not adjust to the feeling of living inside the barrier for any length of time. Was my father reading propaganda put out by the nobles? I trust my mother¡¯s gossip over anything that was printed to read. Stepping out of the carriage, I was in awe at our surroundings. Chapter 7 - Ancient Ruins It was like having my dreams come true. My surroundings looked like I had stepped into a New Zealand evergreen forest. The trees were very tall reaching high into the sky while also creating a canopy above us. Everything is so green. It was oddly quiet with the absence of animals in the surrounding areas. The only animals I could see were the amberclaws that were pulling our wagons. I have never seen our amberclaws so upset before, it was all our caravan drivers could do to soothe them. As a result of this, the grownups immediately started unloading everything and just placing the items on the ground. Sky and I were placed in charge of the other children so everyone could work efficiently. Aaron and Maya were placed in their carrier baskets near us while Jade hopped along. Aaron is 8 months old and the youngest of our group. He has black hair and red eyes. Maya is 15 months old with brown hair and pink eyes. It is still difficult for me to get used to the exotic hair and eye color of this world. The first time I saw little Aaron, I searched for where horns may start growing out of his skull. To my disappointment, he still has not started growing horns. I have not seen anyone with horns in this world but I will keep looking! Looking at the ruins that we were sent here to study, the closest I can describe them is the Aztec ruins. Almost all ancient ruins have some form of pyramid back home quite simply because that shape is what lasted the best through the ages. Where Aztec structures have stairs going up the sides of the pyramids, these ruins have only one ¡°staircase¡± that I can see but it is going up the side as a switchback path. It is a smooth path back and forth with no actual stairs, just an incline. There was a large central structure and several smaller structures. I couldn''t count them all from here but if the spacing is kept the same, there are eight medium structures evenly spaced around the larger structure. I¡¯ve started calling them structures because the pyramid-like buildings are completely intact with not a stone out of place. The only ruins that I see in this area are a long stone structure that is missing its roof. The stones on the ruin do not match the stones of the structures. There are several doorways in the long structure, I can count 10 entrances from here. Was this temporary housing built by a newer generation of ancients? The adults are still working together to empty all of the wagons. As soon as they empty one, the driver immediately turns the amberclaw around and leaves the way we came in. We are going to be well and truly alone for at least a month at a time. I have my job cut out for me, Jade is a bundle of energy and she will not settle down and hold still. To keep her occupied, I started a race with her to see who could run to a tree and back the fastest. I do my best to temper my speed and barely win each time. Sky looks like he is about to lose interest in watching the two younger children. He keeps looking at his dad and slinking closer to him. Nina, Sky¡¯s mother noticed her son getting closer to the wagons and came over to help watch over the children. Almost all of the wagons are empty so the extra pair of hands is not missed as much. Nina looks like she could have been a runway model in a past life. She has white hair with electric blue eyes. She is so petite that she can''t weigh more than 100 pounds. Nina looks dainty next to the mountain of a man that is her husband. After the last wagon was unloaded and gone, the adults all came to where we were sitting to have a meeting. Corrin stood on a log to address the group. ¡°Alicia, Natalie, Lyra, Ardon please sort our supplies as best you can. Zarek, Myself, Teyas, and Anzu are going to roam the area and look for the best place to set up our dwellings. Judy and Nina, please stay with the children.¡± You could tell that some of the adults were not adjusting well to the barrier. Many of them were rubbing their arms and legs like they were trying to work circulation back into them. The odd tingling feeling has mostly faded for me. If I think about it, then it starts bugging me again but it is easy not to focus on it. The other children were no longer rubbing their arms or being extra fussy. Judy came over and sat next to Nina. She was Jade¡¯s mother with blonde hair and blue eyes. I would describe her physique as willowy, gracefully tall, and slender. ¡°If I never see another carriage it will be too soon!¡± she said to Nina. Nina chuckled and responded, ¡°I know what you mean, I thought Sky was going to start climbing the walls at one point. He just would not sit still. How is Jade doing with her letters and numbers?¡± ¡°Jade was far more interested in drawing or sticking everything in her mouth. We got her to start with her numbers a little bit.¡± Sky had joined Jade and me in our racing game at this point. It was so nice to be able to stretch my legs once again. I made sure to pretend to compete with him but still only win about half of the time. His navy blue hair was dark enough to be confused for black when the sun went down. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. [Skill increase: Running +1 (6)]
After about an hour, Corrin made a high-pitched whistle and waved everyone in to gather up again. Aaron immediately started screaming after being woken from his nap so rudely. His mother, Alicia, was close enough to be able to quickly pick him up and soothe him back to almost sleeping again by the time everyone else had made it to the group. ¡°I don¡¯t know about the rest of you, but I do not want to sleep in a tent again tonight if I can help it. The boys and I wandered the area, and that ruin over there looks to be our best bet for a shelter.¡± He pointed to the long ruin missing its roof. ¡°We should be able to tie our tent tarps on top of the structure to keep the elements out.¡± There were nods all around in agreement with Corrin¡¯s observations. ¡°Ardon, how are our supplies looking?¡± ¡°We are going to need to ration our food until we get our next supply delivery. Without rationing, we will run out of food in a little over a week. Thankfully, when we were delayed with the bridge, we were able to get a message out via message crystal to have our supplies delivered early. I still estimate we won¡¯t receive any supplies for at least another week or two.¡± Jade¡¯s father replied. ¡°Ladies, can you start moving all of our supplies into the middle two rooms of the structures we are moving into, please? Gentlemen, we need to get those tent tarps up over the building so we have shelter tonight. Zarek and Anzu team up, Teyas and Ardon are another team. I will float back and forth between helping with the tarps and helping to move our supplies inside.¡± Nina approached the three of us and told us to remain in sight but to continue to play. Aaron and Maya were set down close to where the men were working. They had both fallen asleep so they required very little supervision. By the time the sun was hitting the horizon, seven of the rooms had tarps over them and all of our supplies were stored inside the building. The campfire that night was the scene of a celebration. Everybody was singing and a few of the adults even started to dance. I wonder if they had brought alcohol with them. The dancing left much to be desired but it looked like they were having fun with it. After a watered-down stew for dinner and the subsequent celebration, the families all wandered off to their new dwellings. Our new home was the furthest to the left and the closest one to the ancient structures. A curtain had been strung up in place of a door. Near the back, three bedrolls were made upon the ground. Two were adult-sized and combined to make a giant bedroll. My bedroll was placed a distance away and some supplies were set up between our beds to give the adults some privacy. It did not take long for my parents to fall asleep. It has been a long day for all involved. I was sleepy, but I wanted to stay up and work on my sneaking skills. It is a novice skill and much harder to level up. I waited for the adults to have the even breathing of sleep and then very slowly and quietly got out of bed. Wrapping myself up in a darker blanket to hide my white nightdress, I headed for the door at a snail¡¯s pace. Peeking outside, I did not see any of the adults still outside. The fire had been banked for the morning and the coals were giving off a very faint glow. Luckily there was a full moon tonight and I was able to see quite well. There was a perfect circle of tree-free area around the ancient structures. A sea of grass was all that could be seen around the ancient structures. I sprinted between our house and the edge of the grass as quickly as possible to avoid being seen by any of the adults. I may not have seen any, but that doesn¡¯t mean that they couldn¡¯t be out here somewhere. My goal tonight was to look around one of the smaller structures. When I say small, I mean it relative to the other structures. The smallest buildings could easily fit two football fields in them side by side. All of the buildings were perfectly square at the base and placed equidistant from each other. Walking around my target, I found a long switchback ramp up to the entrance at the top of the pyramid. The path to the top of the building was smooth but with enough friction left to avoid slipping. Along the wall, there were intricate carvings. Every carving was depicting all types of triangles artfully arranged. They were mesmerizing to look at. Making it to the top of this building was quite an accomplishment for my stubby little legs. I felt like I was ready for a nap when I made the whole way up. The door looked to be sealed up tightly. I could not find any latch or button within reach to push to open the door. Sighing in defeat, I made the long trek back to our house so I could get some sleep. Tiptoeing through the long grass, I looked around our clearing to make sure none of the adults were visible. When I could not locate any, I sprinted the last few yards to our door, slowing down just in time to reach our door curtain. My parents were both still sleeping when I entered our house so I was able to sneak to my bed and tuck myself in for the night. [Skill increase: Sneak +1 (11)] [Level Up +1 (18)] Chapter 8 - Trouble in Paradise Morning came way too early the next day. It was my mother¡¯s turn to make breakfast for everyone so we were up and out of the house before the sun even came up. Lately, she has been forcing me to help when she cooks. Today, I was in charge of counting out loud how many scoops of oats she put into the pot of boiling water. She made it a fun activity with a little rhyming number song as we counted. It was really hard for my sleep-deprived mind to play along this morning but I tried my best just to make her smile. I can still get away with taking naps and I plan to take advantage of that later today. Usually, when we have enforced nap time, I would close my eyes and work on my Visualization skill. Corrin, Nina, and Sky were the first family to come out after the sun began to rise. They all looked well-rested and ready for what the day will bring them. My mother greeted them and scooped porridge into the bowls that they brought with them. Each family had their own bowls that they would clean and bring with them to each meal. Sky¡¯s family was using stone bowls instead of the wooden bowls that were owned by my family. Ardon, Judy, and Jade were the next family up. They did not look quite as awake but they still smiled and greeted everyone at the campfire. Ardon has the most vivid cherry red hair I have ever seen. It is always easy to spot where he is when you are looking for him in a crowd. ¡°Good Morning everyone! It looks like it will be a beautiful day today.¡± Judy said as she was getting her porridge. After waiting for nearly a half-hour, Corrin ended up wandering over to the other two occupied dwellings to make sure to get them moving. There were no proper doors so he ended up yelling to wake the individuals inside. Not long after, Teyas, Natalie, and Maya stumbled out of their house and came over for breakfast. It did not look like Teyas or Natalie slept well last night. Teyas was angrily mumbling under his breath when he got his scoop of porridge. Natalie spoke for her group, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, we had a very hard time falling asleep last night. The barrier is still bothering us quite a bit.¡± Anzu, Alicia, and Aaron came out next and had much the same story as the previous group did. ¡°Aaron is the only one of our family that isn¡¯t having any trouble sleeping. I envy him right now.¡± Anzu said. While they were not in bad moods, it was clear their brain function was hindered this morning. Alicia had to run back and get their bowls to be able to eat breakfast. Once everyone had finished eating and the dishes had all been cleaned and put away, Corrin addressed the group. ¡°While we were scouting yesterday, we discovered that the only building with a door that is open is the main building. We tried briefly to get the other doors open but there was no way to open them from the outside that we could find. Hopefully, we can find a switch in the main building to unlock the smaller ones.¡± People were nodding at his conclusions. ¡°I propose we all stick together today. Everyone comes to the main building to research.¡± With that said, everyone started walking toward the largest building. My father was carrying me and said he would let me down when we got there. I was very happy not to walk up that huge building. I must have dozed off a little, when I opened my eyes we were at the top of the structure looking at the door. None of the adults were carrying torches or any form of light. I understood why as soon as we entered. There was hidden lighting throughout the ruin. The walls were carved in the eight recurring symbols this world had a fetish for. The artwork was beautifully done and in full color. There must be some kind of preservation and cleaning spell running. The floors were spotless and the walls looked like they could have been painted yesterday. After walking for quite a distance, we made it to a staircase heading down about two floors. There was a walkway around the edge of the room with a view of the enormous sunken chamber in the center. The sunken room had eight closed doors around the sides of the room. There was a door in the center of each wall in this octagonal room. This was where the first evidence of damage was. You could tell that above each door was where the tablets were taken from that we had in the research facility back home. There was also a large central column of stone that was carved with more writing. More evidence of damage was on the central column but whatever the center was made of was too tough to allow removal without damaging the carvings. There was a whole section of damaged stone in evidence to that. One of the men set up a barricade in front of the stairs leading outside and the children and I were told to run around and have fun. Each couple set up a mobile desk in front of a closed door and began to study the carvings around the door frame. In addition to a specific symbol, like a leaf, there was also more writing to be studied around the door. My parents set up next to the doorway with the black swirl marks. Each wall had a specific tint added to the stone. It created a triangle that reached the central column. Closest to the central column, there were stone benches placed facing the center of the room. Behind the benches, there were rows of stone shelves. There was a fifteen-foot wide walkway around the edge of the room between the shelves and the eight doorways. There were nooks and crannies all over inside the large room. The bookshelves were not all uniform and each colored section had its unique style. Sky, Jade, and I decided it would be fun to play hide and seek. This gave me the perfect excuse to investigate all over the room. I wouldn''t be shocked if one of the smaller buildings outside could fit in this room. There was so much space to explore. When the adults stopped for our mid-day snacks, we were told that it was nap time. One of the adults had the time to build a playpen for us with bedding to sleep on. Sky and Jade started whining when they were told it was time for a nap. I made sure to join in on the whining to not be left out. I had gotten my second wind from this morning so I was not interested in taking a nap either. While we were playing hide and seek, I made sure to stop at the central column to memorize portions of it with my Visualization. I plan to compare the central column writing to the tablets from back home while we are napping. I feel like I am so close to making a breakthrough in this language. I just need a small push in the right direction. System you can help me out at any time! It is hard to keep track of time when we are inside this building. The sun was very low in the sky when we all left to go back to our housing. It was decided to leave all of our supplies inside the structure at the end of the day. We will be back again tomorrow and there is no reason to lug it up and down each day. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Dinner was watered down stew once again. It was decided that was the best way to stretch our supplies until we can get another delivery. The adults were all animatedly talking about all of the new things they discovered today about the ruins. Before yesterday, the most anyone had ever seen of the ruins was a painted picture. While a painting is worth a thousand words, seeing it in person was worth quite a few more words. Corrin and Judy had both said how thankful they are to be given the chance to be here in person. They couldn¡¯t wait to get back in there tomorrow to see what more they could discover. Aaron and Maya¡¯s parents were very quick to go to bed as soon as they were done eating. They were still complaining about how the barrier was affecting them and that they wanted as much time as possible to try to sleep tonight. I felt bad for them. I didn¡¯t even notice the barrier anymore.
The days fell into a rhythm. Breakfast, Long hours at the ancient structure, followed by dinner at camp and then straight to bed. It was easy to tell the difference between those who could ignore the barrier and those who could not. Teyas and Alicia were hit the worst. Teyas was quick to anger, becoming increasingly stressed each day. Alicia was having problems keeping food down and was often seen throwing up. On the tenth day, it was agreed that everyone would take a break from research for the day. My father hoisted me onto his shoulders as we went for a walk into the treeline. ¡°Ok little one, let us see what we can find to cover our roof a little more permanently¡± ¡°Okay daddy, I¡¯ll help you look!¡± ¡°While we are out today I want you to stay close to me at all times but let me know if you see any mushrooms or berries. We can surprise mommy with some fresh produce.¡± We walked for a few minutes before we found our first tree that had fallen. Pulling out an ax from his belt, he said ¡°I¡¯m going to put you down right here while I cut some of this wood, make sure to stay in my sight at all times.¡± I nodded my head and sat down a little ways away with my back to one of the enormous trees. I expected to see insects on the ground or in the trees, but the barrier must keep them away. The tree that had fallen was a fairly young one. I would estimate its diameter at three feet across. It was still a long enough specimen that it should provide a more permanent roof for at least half of the group¡¯s houses. A little while after my father started chopping, Corrin and Ardon showed up carrying their axes. ¡°Glad you were able to find one that is already down Zarek, I was unable to find any in the direction I headed in. Corrin, did you have any luck?¡± ¡°Nah, we¡¯ll go back out and look for more after we are done processing this one.¡± The men worked together to cut the downed tree into the length they needed to place on top of the houses. Cutting the log down the center, giving them two planks to work with when they got to the housing structure. ¡°My measure skill is at 10, are either of your skills higher?¡± asked Corrin. ¡°12¡± ¡°8¡± ¡°Congratulations Zarek! You get to cut the log into 8-foot sections. Once you have a few cut to size we can start bringing them back.¡± ¡®Who brings their almost-three-year-old out in the woods with them when they are going to be chopping down trees?¡¯ I thought to myself. Boredom set in quickly for me. For my amusement, I pilfered one of the smaller sticks and started drawing in the dirt. I was trying to find the meaning of the words found in the ancient structure. I know it can take decades for researchers to translate dead languages but I felt I had a leg up on the competition because of my knack for languages. I saw movement coming toward me and immediately scribbled out the words I was writing to make it look more like a child¡¯s doodles. ¡°We are going to head back now, can you lead us back?¡± ¡°Ok, daddy!¡± The men each picked up a section of split log and started to follow me back towards our camp. That they were able to lift and carry that thing with only three people is amazing to me. I had to run to keep in front of them with the pace that they were setting.
The camp was in chaos when we arrived back. There were several wagons filled with supplies parked in front of our dwellings. Yowling could be heard from the amberclaws. My mother, Nina, and Judy were busy trying to unload the wagons. Teyas looked to be having a heated discussion with one of the drivers. ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir but our orders are to drop off supplies only. We do not have permission to bring you back with us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bunch of bull! My family can''t live like this! You will take us back and damn the consequences!¡± ¡°Is this something you are willing to do? The last time I brought someone back from an assignment early, they were sent to punishment and then finally demoted down to purple. Do you want to be a farmer for the rest of your life?¡± ¡°We can''t sleep, Alicia can''t even eat. This is not fair!¡± Corrin pulled Teyas, Natalie, Anzu, and Alicia to the side. ¡°Come here, stop harassing the driver right now! He is only doing his job. Now, what is this I hear about you leaving?¡± ¡°Our health is in danger if we stay here any longer. My Alicia can''t keep any food down and I have not had a decent night''s rest since before we entered the barrier.¡± Anzu said. ¡°Teyas and I are the same, we are not having problems with eating but we can¡¯t sleep and it is affecting our work. We are nothing but dead weight out here. I fear we will die out here if we stay any longer.¡± Natalie explained. ¡°Alright, if you have made your decision knowing full well the likely consequences, I am not going to stop you from leaving. Good luck to you and safe travels home.¡± Corrin waved the driver over at that point. ¡°Good sir, my companions are aware of the consequences of leaving their assignment early. Can you please take them with you when you return?¡± The driver reluctantly agreed. While everyone was talking, all but one wagon had been completely unloaded. It did not take long for the contents of the final wagon to be unloaded and the two families to climb in the back. They were not able to completely pack up their belongings for the return trip and also fit in the wagon. Chapter 9 - Mental Notes ¡°Well, this sucks.¡± My mother said while sitting down with dramatic flair. ¡°It can''t be helped. We all know they were no longer contributing to our translation efforts. Yesterday, I caught Teyas napping while we were in the large ruin.¡± Nina said. Ardon walked over stroking his red beard in thought. ¡°We are better off without them if they would not or could not contribute. Our esteemed noble may send us reinforcements but I do not wish this on anyone else.¡± ¡°As the leader of this expedition, I am making a judgment call. Tomorrow we will take the extra time it takes to get a roof over all of our houses. If we are lucky, there will be enough of the tree leftover to build bed frames.¡± The sun was low on the horizon after the earlier commotion. The next day the entire group headed over to the downed tree to help carry the logs back. Poor Nina was too small to be able to lift any but the smaller branches. She spent most of her time keeping an eye on Jade, Sky, and me. I didn''t need the supervision but Jade was a bundle of energy that would not hold still. Corrin¡¯s hopes of bed frames did not come true. After placing a roof over the dwellings of all three families plus the two storage dwellings, they were left with half of a log remaining. My father had placed several pieces of scrap wood in our house for his whittling hobby. The tent tarps were placed on top of our new roof to add extra leak protection and insulation. The nights thus far have been comfortable but every morning there would be fresh dew on the tarps. It had yet to fully rain, but based on our journey to get here, that was more luck than a rule. Our camp was more subdued that night. My mother was humming as usual, but there wasn''t any lighthearted singing from anyone. Judy stood up and said ¡°I am going to turn in early tonight. Getting an early start for once will be a nice change.¡± She headed to her door with Jade on her hip. ¡°Aye without those layabouts, we will finally make it there at a decent hour tomorrow,¡± Ardon said as he followed Judy to their house.
The morning sun came too early. It was my mother¡¯s turn to cook breakfast again. We were up early to cook this world¡¯s version of eggs and bacon. One of the wagons they use for our deliveries has a preservation enchantment on it. It didn''t help us keep things fresh once they got here, but nobody was complaining about fresh food while it lasted. ¡°Ow! HOT!¡± Jade screamed when she took her bite of breakfast. Ardon was there to comfort her. ¡°Let''s blow on it together munchkin¡± He made a game of blowing on all of her food with her while she ate. ¡°How long do you reckon until Sky turns three?¡± Dad asked Corrin as they were all enjoying breakfast. ¡°I wouldn''t be surprised if he already is. It is hard to keep track of what day it is out here. Nina do you know?¡± ¡°He turns three in two days, dear.¡± Nina was a person who needed to keep everything organized and was the most likely to know where something was located. Keeping track of the days was probably something she did in her journal to satisfy her need to know. While turning a year older was acknowledged in this world, there were no gifts or parties to go with it. Turning a year older for children was just one year closer to being forced to attend school away from home. It was not spoken of and when I asked the answer I got was ¡°That is just the way things are.¡±
Time continued to march by and we all got into a rhythm. Jade turned three years old last week. She is still a bundle of energy that is constantly on the move. My father gave us little figurines to use on a scavenger hunt. We can usually get one of the adults to hide them for us so it is fair. Sky is brilliant at finding hidden objects. It has gotten to the point where I think he has some sort of seeker skill. It was during one of our scavenger hunts that I noticed a little cubby under one of the shelving units. I was going to come back and investigate this the next time we play hide and seek. There was enough room for me to crawl underneath the shelf and hide. Nobody is going to find me under there. Who am I kidding? Sky will find me. He always finds me. If I had to describe Sky, I would call him the quiet one that blends into the background. Underestimating Sky is exactly what he wants you to do. His mind is always calculating and very little escapes his notice. After several close calls with my parents catching me writing in the dirt and Sky pointing to letters on the ground and yelling out what they are, I started to internalize all of my ¡°writings¡±. It was very difficult to remember my musings and thoughts from day to day so I tried to use Visualization for it. That didn''t work because I didn''t write it down in the first place. I kept at it and the system finally rewarded me with a new skill. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. [Skill gained: Mental Notes 1] I had a personal notepad I could save my thoughts on. This was also my first Advanced Skill. When I received the skill, it was worth 50 experience. Basic skills are worth 10 experience at level 1. At level 2 a basic skill is worth 30 experience, 10+20. Novice skills are worth 20 experience at level 1. At level 2 a novice skill is worth 60 experience. If the same rules hold, that means at level 2 my Mental Notes skill will be worth 150 experience.
Level 19
Age 3 1/2
Experience (18290/19000)
Health 190/190
Stat Points 90
Skill Points 3
Strength 14
Constitution 19
Dexterity 16
Intelligence 65
Wisdom 60
[Traits] [Skills] [Magic]
[Basic Skills]
Acting 29
Climbing 17
Drawing 8
Language - Common MAX
Mathematics 20
Meditation 18
Running 10
Writing 6
[Novice Skills]
Sneak 13
Visualization 22
[Advanced Skills]
Mental Notes 1
I have found that to level my skills, I have to come up with new ways to approach them. Climbing, for example, when I first gained that skill all I needed to do to level it higher was spend a good portion of the night climbing in and out of my crib. After a while, I had to find new things to climb to gain more levels in that skill. I have been climbing on everything from shelving to the central column to gain the levels I have. For Acting, it has gotten harder to level. Now to level that skill up at all, I have to get into character. Pretending to be me as a child no longer gives me any levels. During our scavenger hunts, I have made a game of pretending to be Sherlock Holms out to solve a grand mystery. The difficulty of leveling each skill increases every 10 levels. From levels 1-10, I can repeat what I did when I gained the skill and given enough effort, the skill will level up. From levels 11-20, it requires me to understand the skill on a new level. For example, with Sneak, I had to start paying closer attention to my foot placement and how heavy I was breathing. I¡¯ve found that if I practice this where I have a chance of being caught, I can level the skill faster. One night I spent sneaking around my parent¡¯s section of our house while they were asleep to help level the skill.
It was during our nap time that I got my breakthrough. I was using Visualization and Meditation combined with Mental Notes to study the writing on the spiral doorway when I received the notice. [Skill gained: Language - Runic 1] The ancient language is called the Runic language. I was so excited I jumped up and started to run around. Thankfully it had been long enough since we were told to take our nap that I was not forced to go back to sleep. Running from doorway to doorway, I could start to understand simple words. I still had a long way to go to master the language but I made my first huge step! Experimentation is in order! I ran up to the central column and started looking for what I could understand. The system is a cheat by the way. Looking at the central column, I could see some words were highlighted now in my mind with an overlay of what they mean. Scattered throughout the pillar I was able to make out ¡°Push Here To Enter.¡± The words were spread out. ¡°push¡± was high enough that I needed to climb the column a little bit to reach it. Once I touched the symbol for ¡°push,¡± the system highlighted it in a different color. I proceeded to push the ¡°here¡± ¡°to¡± and ¡°enter¡± symbols. It did not occur to me at the time that they needed to be pushed in a certain order. The order I ended up pushing them in was ¡°push¡± ¡°to¡± ¡°enter¡± ¡°here¡±. As soon as I pushed the ¡°here¡± symbol, the floor beneath me disappeared. Chapter 10 - Magic The fall into darkness was blessedly short. I was shocked there was not any light where I landed. Based on the lack of light filtering through the ceiling, the opening had sealed up tight behind me. Using my hands, I felt around the walls of the room. There were no seams or carvings that I could feel, leaving the walls completely smooth. I ran my hands along the wall trying to see with my hands. When I made it to the 4th wall, I got an unwelcome surprise. The wall was quite sharp and it cut one of my hands when I encountered it. It didn''t feel like a life-threatening cut, but it would cause me to bleed pretty badly if I didn''t bind it quickly. Trying to rip my dress with one hand was an impossible task for me. I could feel blood dripping from my hand as I fumbled with my dress to find something to bind it with. Sitting down, I was able to wrap my hand in my skirt to provide pressure to stop the bleeding. ¡®My parents are going to have a heart attack when I find myself out of this place and show up covered in blood. Ok, focus, how do I get out of here?¡¯ I placed my uninjured hand on the ground behind me to try to reposition myself away from the evil wall. As I got to the center of the room, I was blinded by a bright light that materialized. Blinking my eyes to get the spots out of my vision, I looked around the now very well-lit room. The three smooth walls have nothing special about them that I can see. On the fourth wall, there is a huge mural with lots of sharp edges. The mural has beautiful depictions of the eight symbols as well as some writing. I don''t understand enough of the language to be able to translate with any accuracy but it looks to be some kind of prophecy. It references an old soul (I think) and something happening when they appear. Looking down, I see a bloody handprint on a large crystal that was set into the floor. The crystal is changing color at a dizzying pace. After studying it, there is a pattern to the colors. It appears this world¡¯s fascination with the rainbow goes back to ancient times. The order that it changes is black, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, and then back to Black again. The entire rotation of color lasts 8 heartbeats, one for each color. My dress has a lot of blood on it. It doesn''t help that it is white and shows every drop of blood. No fresh blood can be seen seeping through my skirt bandage so the bleeding must have either stopped or slowed significantly. I am thankful I didn''t accidentally cut my wrist and hit a more dangerous artery. The problem with my new view is there wasn''t a way out I could see. The mural was not glowing like the column that got me into this mess. I made sure to study the prophecy so that I could remember the details with my Visualization. My hand was starting to ache. Every time I would start to forget about my wound, I would move it and it would start throbbing again. After a while, I started screaming for help. I have not heard anything since I fell into this death trap. Hunger began to set in not too long after that. Even when the adults were rationing their meals, the children still got their full serving. Before this life, my parents were both comfortable enough that I never had to miss a meal growing up. The light started to dim as time went on. Afraid of losing my only light source, I touched the crystal in the center of the room. This caused the light to turn back on as well as creating text that popped up in her vision. The writing was in a different font than the system menu usually wrote in. It was almost calligraphy with how the words flowed across her vision. Greetings Ancient One. Your coming has been foretold. By providing a sample of your blood to the solar crystal you have agreed to all terms regarding this procedure. Please press the solar crystal to begin your initial selection. WHAT!! I did not agree to any terms. Where are the terms? A procedure sounds ominous. You can''t make me touch that thing again. I will sit in the dark! After about 30 minutes, another message popped into her vision. I commend thee Ancient One. Not many would choose as you have. By not making a choice, you have left your future up to fate. A huge circle with eight different colors, the rainbow plus black and white, was brought up in her vision. As she watched, the octagon started spinning with an arrow at the top. The wheel started to slow down, while she watched what fate would bring her. Blue went by, then purple, slowly white went by looking like it may stop there until it had one last burst of motion flipping it over to black. Fate smiles upon you, Illusion shall be yours. She did not have time to think before a massive migraine caused her to lose consciousness. Her mind recreated the simulated dig site that she spent so many hours practicing on during her classes. Looking at herself, she was in her adult body. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt with her blonde hair up in a ponytail. The cut on her hand had thankfully disappeared as well. Finding a kit on the ground next to her, she moved to the site with loose sandy dirt. There were eight sections with gridding already measured out on them. Each section had a color and symbol associated with it. As she approached the red diamond section, she was met with an invisible forcefield keeping her away. ¡®Well, fate did say that illusion shall be mine. Based on the color, that means I need to go to the black swirl section.¡¯ Walking over to the black swirl section, she was able to approach the gridding. Just before she stepped over the rope, another message popped up. Find the aspect that best suits your needs. Be aware, you may only have a maximum of ##ERROR##. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Recalculating¡­ You have no limits on the number of aspects that can be obtained. Be aware, each additional aspect will be more difficult to find. ¡®Limitless for the win!¡¯ she thought. The gridded-off section that she needed to dig through was a fairly large area. She counted nine equal squares of two-foot by two-foot sections. This was going to take her quite a while. The squares closest to her contained the loosest soil while the squares furthest away appeared to have hard-packed dirt in them. Placing a pair of gloves on that she found in her kit, she stepped into the first square. The soil was loose enough that she used her hands to lightly dig around to see if she could feel anything. ¡®No, of course, that would be too easy¡¯ she thought. She grabbed one of the buckets in her kit and started to carefully fill it with soil. Once all of her buckets were full, she walked them to the edge of her grid and dumped them out on the unmarked ground. When she returned with her next bucket, the dirt she had previously discarded was missing. ¡®Well, I guess I don''t have to worry about creating tiny mountains of dirt everywhere.¡¯ It took her several trips dumping buckets before she found something that was not dirt. You have located the aspect for Dazzle. To obtain this aspect, you must completely unearth it. If the aspect becomes damaged, it is possible to lose it or obtain a weak version of it. Proceed with caution. She immediately stopped digging. ¡®Dazzle, that sounds like something I would use to blind or distract someone. There is no way I could hide a skill like that while trying to practice it.¡¯ Making up her mind, she moved to a new square and repeated the process of digging once again. There were three squares with loose dirt and she wanted to see them all before making a decision. She did not want to spend too much time digging around if her parents were looking for her. You have located the aspect for Shadow Blade. You have located the aspect for Disguise Self. ¡®Now that¡¯s just what I need, a skill that I can cut myself with.¡¯ She looked longingly at the other six cubes with their hidden contents. ¡®My kit does not include enough tools in it for me to be confident I won''t break one of the other aspects while trying to reach it.¡¯ she thought. The aspects that she had uncovered so far were all located in random places throughout the measured off squares. ¡®I¡¯m not sure what I am going to use Disguise Self for in the middle of nowhere, but it is the safest option for me to practice without getting caught.¡¯ With that thought, she carefully began unearthing that aspect. The object was buried deeply into the loose soil. She felt like she was carefully unearthing a tree root. There were quite a few delicate ¡°branches¡± leading off in different directions. After hours of careful excavation, she was able to carefully hold the object to brush the last bits of dirt off of it. Excavation integrity calculating¡­ 100% Congratulations, with your attention to detail, a bonus of 5% synchronization has been added to this aspect at the start for a total of 6% To return for more aspects, you must have a total of 8% synchronization for illusion. She woke abruptly and was immediately reminded of the cut she had on her hand. It chose that moment to start throbbing again. Looking down, she noticed a black mark through the white parts of her dress. As she lifted her dress to get a better look at her new bruise, she worried about what other bruises she may find on her body from the fall down. It wasn''t a bruise. She was now the proud owner of a black swirl mark a little to the lower left of her belly button. There was no way she was going to be able to hide a dark black mark. Memories of the little boy being taken away from his mother resurfaced and caused her to momentarily freak out a little bit. What happens when somebody sees that mark? ¡®Ok think Violet¡¯ she thought to herself. ¡®I just unlocked illusion magic and received an aspect of Disguise Self. There has to be something I can work with that.¡¯
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 1%
Illusion 6% Disguise Self
While her new magic did not come with an instruction manual, while she was knocked out the system embedded ideas of how to control her magic. The percentages were a little new. There was an overall synchronization percentage for Illusion and then a percentage for each aspect she unlocked. Those ideas on her new magic came naturally to her as she attempted her first experiment. Holding out her undamaged hand, she thought about making her skin turn purple. Slowly as she was intently staring at her hand, her skin color changed. She let out a breath of relief and her hand immediately changed back to its natural color. ¡®Well drat. I can change the color but I have to stay focused on it for the color to stay put.¡¯ She put to practice with her new illusion ability at the top of her skill priority list using her Mental Notes skill. Her life could depend on the proficiency of that skill. Just that little bit of experimentation left her feeling a little drained. She looked at her status sheet to see if there were any changes to explain this.
Level 19
Age 3 1/2
Experience (18340/19000)
Health 162/190
Mana 505/620
Stat Points 90
Skill Points 3
Strength 14
Constitution 19
Dexterity 16
Intelligence 67
Wisdom 62
[Traits] [Skills] [Magic] Well, that is new. Unlocking her magic also unlocked her mana bar. Based on the amount missing, she needed to be careful. Without pulling her math out, she estimated maybe two hours¡¯ worth of use before she would run out of mana. Hopefully, training would lower the mana cost. Now all she had to do is figure out how to get out of here. No problem! Chapter 11 - Getting Out After touching the crystal on the floor to refresh the timer on the light, she started inspecting the room for anything she may have missed the first time. The walls were still smooth and seamless on three sides. Focusing on the mural once more, she noticed that the Illusion swirl was now faintly glowing. Careful to avoid any sharp edges on the wall, she gingerly pressed the swirl symbol. The entire wall that the mural was on soundlessly opened outwards. Walking out of the room, there was a walkway around the room she was just in. There were four doors in her immediate sight, each door representing one of the eight symbols she was familiar with. She did not see the Illusion door so she started to wander down the hallway. Movement behind her startled her as the door she just exited closed. ¡®Well, I didn''t want to be stuck in there anyway.¡¯ The illusion door had several glowing words around it. Deciding that less is more and not wanting to have a repeat of her earlier experience, she looked for words that might open the door. At the very bottom left of the doorframe, there was a tiny word that said ¡°open¡±. She pushed that word and quickly jumped back as far away as she could get from the door. To her relief, after about thirty seconds, the door slid inside the wall revealing another hallway on the other side. On the other side of the doorway, there were more runes around the doorframe. She quickly located the ¡°open¡± symbol and watched it open again for good measure. With nothing of note to see in the hallway, she walked through the long passage for what felt like hours. The hallway had quite a few doors along the walls that she could open. After opening the first few she came across, she decided to stick to the main hallway as her best chance of getting out of this maze. Many of the doors she had opened had other doors leading from them. At some point, she found a stairway that led up and decided to follow it. The stone floor was starting to look like a comfortable bed by this point. It has been hours since she was trapped in what she dubbed in her head the ¡°mural room¡±. There was a very ornate door at the top of the stairs. Calling up a picture of the swirl door from the main entry with her Visualization skill, the two looked to have a similar style. She was unsure how to approach her parents if this was the last door. They didn''t believe her to be a genius so she decided to keep her story as simple as possible. With that decision made, she located and pushed the ¡°open¡± symbol. Her luck was finally paying out for her. When the door soundlessly opened, there weren¡¯t any adults in the immediate vicinity. She sprinted as quickly as her little legs would carry her into the shelving units that she had spent so many hours playing in and around. There were a couple of contingency plans that she came up with during her long walk and this one she felt was her best one. After crawling under a shelving unit, she immediately started crying. This was the same shelving unit she had found quite a while ago that had a little cubby to hide in. During her play with the other kids, she discovered a small underground room beneath the shelf. It had a ladder so she had never gotten stuck in there before. She heard the sound of a pair of running feet. ¡°VIOLET!¡± her dad shouted. ¡°Zarek, I hear her! It sounds like she is under this shelf.¡± A concussive force followed her mother¡¯s words. ¡°Dammit! I can¡¯t move this thing. Lyra, run back and get Nina. She may be able to fit under this infernal shelf.¡± She had decided that her story was to be that she fell in this room and hit her head. Having no way to find a reason for her hand to be cut, she simply decided to play dumb. Being three and a half had its benefits. Adults don¡¯t usually expect well-thought-out reasons from toddlers. Close to an hour later, Nina arrived. Her dad had stayed with her talking through the shelving unit to let her know he was still there. She felt bad for her deception but the truth would be worse in her opinion. When he asked if she could climb out, she told him that her hand hurts and she couldn¡¯t climb. Her hand did hurt so that excuse wasn¡¯t too far-fetched. Nina¡¯s tiny frame was able to just barely fit under the shelf. It was a little comical to watch her wiggle like a worm to get into the deeper section with her. ¡°I see her! There is an underground room in here. Hold on, I''m going to climb down and get her out. There is a ladder here for me to use to get back out.¡± Violet was worried Nina was going to hit her head when she fell into the room. She managed to get her hands out in front of her in time. ¡°You gave us quite a fright, little Violet.¡± She grimaced when she saw the state of Violet¡¯s dress but seeing that it was dried blood, she focused on getting Violet out of the room.
As soon as they made it back to camp, Violet was subjected to a bath. It was difficult to keep her concentration to maintain the illusion over the mark on her stomach. At five mana every minute, She had only enough mana to sustain her illusion for a little over two hours. Right now, her problem wasn''t so much mana as it was concentration. Her parents didn''t want to buy the story of her hitting her head and just waking up when she started crying. She didn''t have any bumps or scrapes on her head and believe me, they looked thoroughly. A jar of ointment was used on her cut. The color and consistency caused her to let out a sleep-deprived giggle when she saw it. It was a jar of green slime, viscous and squishy. Once the ointment was placed on her cut, her hand stopped throbbing. She was amazed at how such a small cut could bleed so much and cause her such pain. The next day, Sky, Jade, and her were told they could no longer run around and climb on things. The adults each took a turn teaching or watching the children. The freedom to roam as they pleased had come to an end. She had high hopes that this was just an overreaction to her going missing and they would ease up on them sometime in the future. Until then, it was time to go over the alphabet again with Judy.
It has been six months and they have not let up their vigilance on watching us. I am thankful fate chose magic that I would be able to practice. If I had received something like fire, I would have quite a hard time practicing it. My parents would think I had turned into a pyro or worse figure out that I had developed magic. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Wearing a white dress has never been such a hassle. Every time my concentration would slip in the beginning, a black mark could be seen through the thin white material. I have gotten to the point where I can maintain the illusion on my skin for the entire time I am awake. As the synchronization level for Disguise Self rose, the mana cost dropped. Maintaining the aspect is almost free when you consider the natural regeneration of my mana pool. To practice my magic at night, I have been trying to make myself look like Jade. One of the items that were left by the two groups that left was a mirror. I made sure to beg my parents to put it in my room. Yes, I have a room now and it even has a door! Corrin was able to find another tree that had fallen. It was near the edge of the barrier so it took the adults several of their rest days to bring back enough for everyone to build rooms inside their dwellings. Long grasses were used to weave support for a mattress between the bed frame edges on my new bed. My mother made sure to warn me that if I jumped on the bed, the center would break and I would be sleeping on the floor again. As time went on, the weaving started to stretch. This had the added benefit of being more comfortable but I was afraid it was going to snap soon.
Level 21
Age 4
Experience (21660/23100)
Health 200/200
Mana 670/670
Stat Points 100
Skill Points 4
Strength 15
Constitution 20
Dexterity 17
Intelligence 72
Wisdom 67
[Traits] [Skills] [Magic]
[Basic Skills]
Acting 30
Climbing 17
Drawing 10
Language - Common MAX
Mathematics 20
Meditation 20
Running 12
Writing 10
[Novice Skills]
Sneak 15
Visualization 24
[Advanced Skills]
Mental Notes 2
Language - Runic 3
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 7%
Illusion 59% Disguise Self
The system had an odd way of calculating overall percent. There were nine plots for me to uncover aspects in, this meant there were a total of nine aspects that I could gain. Doing quick math in my head with the help of Mental Notes to see what I was doing, means each aspect is worth around 11% of the overall total for Illusion. But this is where the math got wonky. My current synchronization level was 59%, which added up to 6.56% for the overall percent. The system automatically rounded up and called it 7%. That part made perfect sense to me. What didn''t make sense was when I was at 58% or 6.44% overall, it still rounded up and gave me 7%. I¡¯m not complaining about this weird quirk of system math. Based on my calculations I needed to get my aspect synchronization up to 64% before I would be eligible to gain another aspect. One of the weaknesses of Disguise Self that I have found is I cannot change my height or proportions. I can make myself look like Jade with green hair and brown eyes, but I could not shrink my height to match her. I also could not make myself look fat without props. I put a pillow under my dress one night and was able to make it look like I had a big belly. It was not perfect by any means and it would take a lot of practice and better props to be able to pull it off in front of others.
It took a total of nine months after my disappearing act for the adults to relax their guard. They still rotate which adult is in charge of keeping an eye on us for the day. Each morning we attend class and learn our numbers and letters. Sky can read small words now. I no longer wait a few months after Sky starts doing something to copy him. Being close to five years old now allows me to blur the lines a little bit. I am still vigilant about not surpassing him very far or very often. Our classes already cover everything I would expect to find in kindergarten. After our morning classes, we are told to run laps around the room. I think they came up with this activity with Jade in mind. She has not grown out of her abundance of energy. It is amusing to watch the adults try to get her to sit still in our classes. Once we are done with our laps, we are to lay down and take a nap. I¡¯m not sure why they still try to enforce this as none of us have fallen asleep for a few weeks now. Jade is the weak link there but I guess she is allowed because she is six months younger than I am. I have gotten very close with Sky and Jade over the years we have been together. Sky was very upset when I had my disappearing act and has made a point to not give me a moment of privacy since. Both of them were asleep when I was found so they didn¡¯t know about the blood I had all over my dress. Jade made a point of inspecting my ¡°owie¡± when she saw my hand wrapped in a bandage the next day. I¡¯m not sure what she saw through the bandage but I let her look. Chapter 12 - Another Aspect I finally did it! I made it to 64% synchronization for Disguise Self. The expected message never came. I was expecting to get a quest or message of sorts to return to a certain location or object for a new aspect. Yeah, that didn¡¯t happen. Nothing happened. My runic language skill has leveled to three, and with it, I can understand most of the simple words that are written around the doorways. I have been able to find the ¡°open¡± symbol on every doorway. When I experimentally touched the ¡°open¡± symbol by the nature door, nothing happened. Confused, I walked over to the illusion door and pressed the ¡°open¡± symbol. After waiting the expected amount of time, the door silently opened. I made sure to do my experimenting when there weren¡¯t any adults around to see moving doors that should not be moving. Tonight, after the adults have fallen asleep, I am going to sneak out and approach one of the smaller illusion buildings. It will be a bit of a walk, but the closest one isn¡¯t too far away. I would try to go back to the main building, but it takes us an hour to walk there in the morning and I don¡¯t want to waste that much time. There is no moon in the sky when I sneak out of our house. The stars are bright, but it is difficult to see much of anything. I have run around this area enough during our rest days that I know there are no hidden obstacles hidden in the grass between buildings. Reaching the door of the smallest building for illusion, I am relieved that the system has decided to help. The action symbols are all faintly lit up for me. I gently push the symbol for ¡°open¡± and wait for the door to open. Suddenly, I am blinded by the light coming from inside the building. As quickly as I can, I sit down just inside the door so that it will automatically close. I don¡¯t want to alert any of the adults by a beacon of light on this moonless night. Looking around the room, the first thing I notice is I am not in a hallway. The outside door opens into a large gathering room. Along the walls of the room, there are several conversation seating areas. Most have a couch and two chairs as well as a coffee table in the middle. Other seating areas have taller tables with chairs only. These areas would be ideal for playing a game of cards. In the center of the room, there are several sets of gold circles inlaid in the ground. They are big enough to be used as practice fighting rings. Along the walls, there are several doors with simple door frames. Choosing at random, I reached toward the hand pad beside the door. After placing my hand on the door, words appeared in my vision. You are not assigned to this barracks. See the administrator if this is an error. Barracks! I then walked up to another door and received the same message. Looking around the room, there was one door that was as ornate as the entrance door so I headed in that direction. Using the ¡°open¡± symbol to enter, the room looked like a waiting room complete with a reception desk. Just past the reception desk, there was another door with a hand pad next to it. You do not have the proper clearance to enter. There was no computer or enchanted surface at the reception desk that I could locate. It was possible that what I need is on the other side of that door. Letting out a long sigh, I realized I don''t have time to do anything else tonight. I made sure to search the walls on my way out of the building but still came up empty-handed.
It may take doing something rash to get inside the illusion section of the main structure again. Showing my parents that I can open some doors will lead to more questions than I would like to answer. Before I take such a drastic step, I am going to study the central pillar today. Maybe I can glean some information on how to add myself and possibly others into the system. If everyone here can open doors then all I need to do is ¡°accidentally¡± touch the right symbol in front of an adult. The central pillar had to have been built more for beauty than for function. There are a few words on it that are enchanted to do things. After my first experience with the central pillar, I have been hands-off while studying it. Spending the rest of my free time slowly circling the pillar, I can say with confidence that it is not the central control interface. It is just too simple and very artistic. My big break happened when I pushed a chair over to one of the podiums and looked at the slanted table on it. Along the top of the table, there were three symbols, ¡°function¡±, ¡°on¡±, and ¡°off¡±. By pressing ¡°function¡± and ¡°on¡±, a large section of the table started to glow like a computer screen. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Welcome Ancient One! Why does it keep calling me Ancient One? Oh well, I¡¯m not complaining! Touching the screen, I added access for everyone in all areas I had available on this screen. There was an option for ¡°unlock for all¡± which saved me the time of entering each person manually. I could only add myself to the Administrators option because there was a requirement of having Illusion magic connected to it. While messages sounded like fun, I chose not to play with them at this time. I then pressed ¡°function¡± and ¡°off¡± to hide all evidence of what I was doing. Ardon was sitting by the illusion door when I walked over to it. ¡°Hi Ardon, whatcha doin?¡± ¡°Well hello there Violet, right now I am trying to compare the symbols on this doorway with the symbols that are on the other doorways to see what matches.¡± I pressed the ¡°open¡± symbol and then asked, ¡°What does that one mean?¡± After the usual thirty seconds had passed, the door slid open. The look on Ardon¡¯s face was so comical that it took everything I had in me not to burst out laughing. ¡°GUYS! COME LOOK!¡± Ardon yelled. He then made sure to hold my hand to stop me from darting into the unknown room. The door closed after the customary one minute of being open. To add to the comedy, it closed before anyone else was able to get there to see it open. When the others arrived at our location, Ardon was up against the door trying to push it sideways back into the wall. ¡°We¡¯ve tried that Ardon. Please tell me we did not all just walk over here for one of your pranks¡± Corrin said. ¡°The door just opened! Violet saw it too!¡± He then started pressing all the symbols in the area near the open symbol. ¡°Violet, do you remember which one you touched?¡± I then pressed the ¡°open¡± symbol again and said, ¡°this one I think.¡± When nothing happened right away, Ardon seemed to deflate. The door chose that moment to open once again much to the surprise of everyone there. ¡°This is a great find!¡± ¡°How did you do that!¡± ¡°Wow!¡± Everyone started animatedly speaking at once. While they were all arguing about who would go inside first, the door closed again. This time it was Ardon who pressed the ¡°open¡± symbol. I held my breath hoping that my changes on the admin console have taken place. Thirty seconds later, the door opened again and I breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Draw this symbol. It seems to take a few seconds after pressing it to get the door to open.¡± ¡°Violet, why don''t you go run along and play with Sky while the adults work.¡± My mother said after she noticed I was still standing there with them. I found a place not too far from the door to sit and observe the adults as they experimented with the new door they could open. If only I had access to popcorn! It took them well over an hour of opening and closing the door before anyone was brave enough to cross the threshold. Nobody wanted to be stuck on the wrong side of the door. By the time dinner time rolled around, they had located the ¡°open¡± symbol on the opposite side of the door and verified that it worked going the opposite direction as well. There was a celebration when everyone got back to camp. Everyone was singing, Judy got us up and dancing around with her. Corrin even broke out a bottle that looked suspiciously like alcohol. When bedtime rolled around, my hopes of visiting the barracks again were completely dashed. My parents stayed up talking long into the night too excited to fall asleep. I ended up falling asleep before they did.
Her plan to introduce the door to the adults had several drawbacks. It took over a week for her to be able to sneak out at night once again to visit the barracks. While they were interesting to look at, she could not find anything that would give her access to gaining another aspect. What she assumed was the research facility in the medium-sized structure, was too far away for her to reach at night without being caught. The adults were too afraid of the unknown to allow any of the children into the new section. They continued to keep a rotation for our training and were firmly against any of us going in for any reason. This left her only one option but she was hesitant to do it. She could open the secret room from the central column again. She didn''t want to do this because her absence would be noted. The walk from that room to the exit was just too long for her to make it back before being noticed. In the end, she took advantage of Nina¡¯s distraction one day to enter the secret room again. Nina was too busy looking at the doorways and not paying attention to what the children were doing. Sneaking up to the central column, she had just pressed the last symbol when Sky came up beside her and asked what she was doing. The next thing she knew they were both falling into the secret room. Chapter 13 - Complications The room was dark when they fell into it. ¡°Sky, hold still! Don''t touch anything!¡± She fumbled around searching for the solar crystal in the center of the room. The room was instantly bathed in the light. ¡°Is this where you went last time? I checked the cubby they found you in when they first noticed you gone you know! You weren''t there! NINA!¡± ¡°Shh there is no need to yell, they can''t hear you. Believe me, I tried that last time I got stuck down here. It took me a lot longer to find the light. That mural is where I cut my hand.¡± ¡°Why didn''t you tell me? I can keep a secret!¡± ¡°Na uh! You¡¯ll tell Jade.¡± ¡°No I won''t!¡± ¡°Well, I guess you know now. Can you keep an eye on things while I study this crystal please?¡± She wanted to get her objective done as soon as possible so they could start heading back out. Last time, she thought that time was suspended while she was in her virtual world. This would be the test to see if that was true or not. Sky nodded his head and she quickly pressed the crystal again before he started asking more questions. Welcome Ancient One. Do you wish to gain another aspect? Y/N? Clicking yes in her mind, she was transported to the dig site in her mindscape. Everything looked exactly as it did when she left. Dazzle and Shadow Blade were still exposed but not completely unearthed. She had already decided that she was going to expose every aspect while she was here this time. The middle row of three squares contained dirt that was halfway between the loose sandy dirt of the front row and the hard-packed dirt of the last row. She was going to take her time to make sure not to damage anything while trying to locate the aspect hidden within. You have located the aspect for Cloaking. To obtain this aspect, you must completely unearth it. If the aspect becomes damaged, it is possible to lose it or obtain a weak version of it. Proceed with caution. The middle row was a little more of a challenge after how easy it was to unearth the aspects in the first row. Taking her time, she uncovered the other two squares. You have located the aspect for Decoy. You have located the aspect for Fear. Looking at the last row, she let out a long sigh. ¡®This is going to take me forever! Should I just go with Decoy or Cloaking and ignore the last row for now?¡¯ In the end, she chose to continue her excavation. Not knowing what she could have chosen would keep her up at night fantasizing about what they may be. You have located the aspect for Hypnotize. You have located the aspect for Enchant. You have located the aspect for Contracts. The mindscape she was in was strange. It felt like hours upon hours had gone by, yet she never got hungry or thirsty. She still got tired, but it felt more like mental strain vs physical strain. Looking at her list of aspect options, she was excited about the Enchant option and probably would have selected it right away if she didn''t have to spend the extra effort to completely unearth it. After mulling over her options while uncovering the aspects, she decided that she needed to go with something she could use right now. Enchanting sounded like a lot of fun, but she had no idea what would be required to do that. With her luck, she would be required to use rare resources that she had zero access to. She narrowed her choice down to Decoy or Cloaking. Cloaking sounded a lot like invisibility. While it would be fun to blend in with her surroundings, she didn''t think that would be quite as useful as Decoy right now. She was hoping that Decoy was a body double that she could create for herself. It would make sneaking out at night quite a bit safer if she left a copy of herself sleeping in her bed. With that thought, she started very carefully excavating the Decoy aspect. She got a little sloppy near the end and broke a small piece off of the root-like object she was trying to unearth. Cursing to herself, she took even more time to remove the dirt from the rest of the object. Excavation integrity calculating¡­ 95% Congratulations, with your attention to detail, a bonus of 4% synchronization has been added to this aspect at the start for a total of 5% To return for more aspects, you must have a total of 16% synchronization for illusion. She let out a gasp as her surroundings once again returned to the secret room.
[Magic]
Type If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. % Aspect
Illusion 9%
Illusion 68% Disguise Self
Illusion 5% Decoy
¡°Fine I¡¯ll watch, don''t take too long. The adults are going to start looking for us soon.¡± Sky replied to the statement that, for her, she made hours ago. That proved her theory that time did not pass while she was in her mindscape. ¡°Let''s go find them before they find us. I¡¯ll show you how I got out of here last time.¡± Pressing the right symbol again, the mural silently swung out to reveal the exit. ¡°We have to go out through the black swirl door. Come on, it is over here.¡± The trip out was not any shorter than it was the last time she was stuck down here. This time she didn''t stop for any of the dead ends along the way or to investigate any of the doors. With any luck, they should be able to make it to the section the adults were studying within an hour. If they were really lucky, they could sneak by and enter the main room without being caught at all. While she was in her mindscape, she spent quite a while thinking over how to handle Sky finding out about her secret room. If time didn''t freeze while she was in her mindscape, then she decided to tell him about unlocking magic. There was no way she could explain why she blacked out for several hours if time didn''t freeze. She had started to feel bad for the five-year-old Sky if he was stuck in that little room for hours with her dead to the world. With time freezing, it made things both more simple and more difficult. She decided if that was the case, she was not going to spill the beans about her magic. It would be a good test on how well he can keep a secret. If he kept the secret about her mural room, then she would eventually tell him about her magic as well. Keeping all of her secrets to herself was very lonely. While she would not usually tell these kinds of secrets to an almost five-year-old, she had been with Sky almost every day for her entire existence in this world. ¡°I don''t want the bad men to take me from mommy and daddy if they find out I am too smart. Please don''t tell the adults about my secret room. The mural room is a special place.¡± It felt a little weird to dumb down her words for Sky. She wasn''t sure if he paid any attention to the Nobles when he was two but felt it unlikely. What was most likely to leave an impact in his young mind was the lady the ¡°bad men¡± took away when they came. ¡°I won''t tell anyone, not even Jade, but you have to take me next time you go there. Mommy said not to go anywhere alone, remember?¡± If it took her as long to get her synchronization up as it did with Disguise Self, she figured it would be at least another six months or more before she would need to return. That should be enough time for her to judge how trustworthy he is. ¡°Okay, I promise to take you if I do that again. We probably shouldn''t go back for a long time¡± Luck was on vacation tonight it would seem. As they turned one of the last corners, they bumped into her father, quite literally. He was bending over awkwardly and Sky, not paying attention, barreled right into him knocking him over in the process. The only good news they had was that Nina had not raised the alarm about them being missing. Jade had just laid down for a nap before they had left and had not woken up yet.
They were both serving a prison sentence... Ok, they spent ten days doing A LOT of extra writing as punishment for sneaking beyond the door without permission. Thankfully they never thought she had found another way to enter that area. Sky was a trooper. He didn''t say a word to the adults about what had happened and let me take the lead on the explanation of why they were misbehaving. Writing ¡°I will not disobey my parents.¡± several hundred times managed to level her Writing skill so it wasn''t all bad.
Level 23
Age 4 1/2
Experience (26710/27600)
Health 210/210
Mana 700/700
Stat Points 110
Skill Points 4
Strength 16
Constitution 21
Dexterity 18
Intelligence 74
Wisdom 70
[Traits] [Skills] [Magic]
[Basic Skills]
Acting 30
Climbing 17
Drawing 10
Language - Common MAX
Mathematics 20
Meditation 20
Running 13
Writing 15
[Novice Skills]
Sneak 20
Visualization 26
[Advanced Skills]
Mental Notes 7
Language - Runic 5
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 9%
Illusion 68% Disguise Self
Illusion 5% Decoy
Chapter 14 - Unwelcome Company When their progress was reported during their regularly scheduled supply delivery, an elderly gentleman in a dark yellow shirt came with the following supply run. Corrin escorted the man into the main structure and displayed that the doors were opening. The man seemed nice, but he did not stay. He left with the supply wagon drivers to go back to civilization. The adults spent a lot of time at every doorway after finding the illusion ¡°open¡± symbol. In addition to the doors inside the main structure, they found out that they could open the medium-sized structure as well as four of the smaller structures. It took them too long in her opinion to try the other buildings. When it was discovered that the smaller buildings were barracks, she was excited thinking that they would move into those well-furnished buildings. It took her asking why they hadn¡¯t moved yet for her to understand their thinking. ¡°Absolutely not! We will not tarnish those ancient buildings with our existence. Those buildings are to stay pristine for further research.¡± is what her father said when she asked. She had forgotten that the buildings were all ancient. With the enchantments on the buildings, they look like they were built yesterday. All of the furniture and sheets inside the buildings were in pristine condition. The archaeologist in her was appalled at her even considering living inside such a historic find. A larger than normal supply caravan showed up two months after the older gentleman left. There were at least a hundred people who had just shown up at their doorstep. Many of the people in the group were wearing the yellow of researchers, but there were also other colors mixed throughout the caravan. There was a group of fifteen people wearing green. In this case, green represented both builders and cooks. This group came expecting to have to build housing and then have someone to cook for all of the people they brought with them. Not everyone was paired off in marriage. There were some women in green, but the majority were men. Less represented, but still present, were other colors. Purple was for the farmers, and foresters that came along. There was also a married pair in orange who would be taking over watching the children while the adults are working. Unfortunately, also accompanying the party was a Noble in a yellow robe. He had the same expression and attitude of every Noble she had met so far, full of themselves and not wanting to be there. Several servants were brought to attend to the Noble. When the Noble saw our housing conditions, he started to throw a fit. He had no doubt expected to evict us and live in our homes. ¡°I can not live in this run-down shack! There isn''t even a proper roof on this place! How ridiculous!¡± He looked to be on the verge of having an existential crisis when the older man in dark yellow from before appeared at his side. ¡°Sir, we have recently been able to uncover the means to open some of the doors in the other structures. I believe one of the smaller buildings would be more to your liking, it was once a barracks but I am sure a nicer set of rooms can be located for you.¡± The old man was all but begging near the end. Violet knew that the old man did not see the barracks himself but read a report that was submitted about them. She was saddened that the pristine buildings were going to be contaminated with everyone moving in them. Quite a few changes happened with the newcomers, Corrin was told that he was a grunt and no longer in charge of anything. He seemed to have been expecting such an outcome because she didn''t notice him being upset over the prospect. Having a Noble to cater to would no doubt complicate things quite a bit. Thankfully, it was decided that everyone would move into the same barracks to lessen the impact of them staying there. There were enough rooms within the barracks that every family was able to have separate rooms. Each section off of the main entryway was for a different color. Eight sections were put to use in the barracks. White was delegated to the servants rather than separating the children from their parents. The section with larger rooms and the reception desk at the front was delegated to Black for the Noble¡¯s use. Contrary to what she thought of a barracks, there weren''t rows and rows of bunk beds all placed in the same room. Each doorway off the main room led to a hallway lined with quite a few rooms. The rooms each had a bed and a tall dresser in an eight-foot by eight-foot area. Violet was assigned a room located next to the room her parents were assigned. She was quite happy to have her own room with a real bed. While the bed she was using was not overly uncomfortable, the bed in her new room was like sleeping on a cloud. It was not the box spring mattress she had on Earth, it was closer to memory foam. The foam-like material adjusted to her body heat so she would never be too warm or too cool at night. Next to the door on the inside of the room, there was a small touchscreen to control the level of lighting in her room. It looked like the signal indicator on a cell phone, full bars meant having the light on bright but one bar was like having a nightlight on. She could not find a way to turn the light completely off. To further defile the barracks that they moved into, an enterprising individual in blue clothing hammered nameplates next to each door. Each nameplate held a paper with the name of the individual that was assigned to that room.
The next day, the Noble was in a terrible mood. He looked like he had not gotten any rest the previous night. Looking around the gathering hall, she estimated well over three-quarters of the people here were also having problems with barrier sickness. A man and a woman wearing red were making their rounds to check on people. It looked like they were unaffected by the sickness but they explained to the group that it is well known that barrier sickness does exist and if left untreated, they would eventually die from it. The only known treatment for barrier sickness was leaving the area. A caravan with supplies and new people would arrive in a week. All those affected by the sickness would be able to leave with that caravan. Hearing this upset Violet, the pair of Nobles that sent her initial group here knew about such sickness and sent them here anyway. She hoped that the two groups that left were not punished for leaving early but she didn''t have high hopes of it. After breakfast was over, all of the children were rounded up and taken to a room that was set up as a classroom. Usually, children follow their parents to their jobs and learn from them while at the workplace. It was decided that children should not be inside such important buildings and so teachers were brought with them to occupy the children while the parents were at work. This was terrible news for Violet. She was very close to unlocking another aspect. The doors to the Noble area were guarded at night so sneaking out was all but impossible now. Thankfully she had practiced her Disguise Self aspect well enough that her mark was hidden even while she was asleep.
[Magic] Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
Type % Aspect
Illusion 15%
Illusion 96% Disguise Self
Illusion 38% Decoy
Her Decoy aspect was a lot of fun to play with. She could duplicate herself quite convincingly. The main drawback that she found so far was that while her decoy could interact with objects to touch and move things, if she tried to touch the decoy, her hand would go right through it as if it wasn¡¯t there. As she gained synchronization with the ability, she was also able to see through her decoy¡¯s eyes. She hadn''t been able to make it speak yet, but she could feel that the ability is not too far out of reach. Another thing she learned about her Decoy aspect is that she didn''t need to make a copy of herself. She was able to make the decoy become another person or even an animal if she tried hard enough. The decoys that were not of herself took more mana to control so she would be more limited on using that variant. With her overall synchronization at 15%, she felt she was just one or two percent off from one of her aspects bumping it up to 16% and the ability for her to gain another aspect. She had already decided she wanted Cloaking for her next aspect. There were quite a few more people around that her usual sneaking would not be enough anymore.
By the end of the week, Violet was no closer to gaining access to the secret mural room. She had not been allowed to go anywhere near the main structure since all of the people arrived. Sneaking out proved to be impossible, there was a guard stationed outside the Noble¡¯s door at all hours. She at one point used one of her decoys shaped like someone who wasn''t here to test if the guard would catch her or not. As soon as she opened the door and stuck the decoy¡¯s head out of the doorway, the guard immediately started moving toward her open door. She had quickly ducked her head back in and dissipated the decoy before the guard could see her closer. That following day there was a general announcement that nobody was allowed out after curfew and punishment would be handed out for all those caught after hours. She did not try that stunt again. All but fifteen people left with the caravan that arrived. Thankfully the Noble was included in that number. Unfortunately, a new Noble arrived with the caravan. She made a point of keeping her head down and staying away from any Noble that came. Those people who were able to tolerate the barrier were forced to move forward in their respective halls so that there were no empty rooms between inhabited ones. You could tell how long someone had been there based on the location of their room. It took four months before a Noble came that was able to tolerate the barrier sickness. He was a younger man in black silken robes that had silver thread embroidery. We were to refer to him as Noble Cadmael Tennyson or Noble Tennyson for short. If I had one word to describe this noble, it would be a peacock. His black hair was always expertly styled and glued in place. He also wore black and green eyeliner to make his green eyes stand out. After so long of having the freedom to just go outside and run around, Violet felt like a prisoner. Her every move was monitored and every minute of her day was planned out for her. The only time she was allowed to see the sky was when it was time to run laps around the building they were in. Thankfully Sky and Jade were both still with her and they stuck together. Sky had a habit of sneaking out at night and coming to her room. They spent quite a few hours talking about hopes and dreams or complaining about all the new rules. Tonight, she had lost her patience and was down about not being able to reach her secret room. To make herself feel better, she decided that she was going to tell Sky about her magic. ¡°Sky, do you know what all of the symbols mean?¡± ¡°Mom says each symbol stands for a type of magic, but we aren''t supposed to talk about it. She even has a poem to remember them all by. Do you want to hear it?¡± ¡°Yes please! I¡¯ve never heard it before.¡± She truly hadn''t heard it before. While her mother liked to sing a lot, they were usually songs about people or the weather. ¡°The symbols and colors of magic are mighty Black swirl brings mystery with illusion Red diamond bring passion with fire Orange square brings the strength of the earth Yellow triangle brings a breeze to the air Green leaf brings growth and nature Blue teardrop brings flowing water Purple star brings curiosities of space and time White heart brings us health with healing Remember well and always be amazed¡± ¡°Honestly I think she made it up herself. I¡¯ve read better poetry in the books they make us read in class.¡± Laughing she replied with ¡°Yeah, that was pretty bad. But it helps me understand what each symbol means at least.¡± ¡°Do you know what it means if someone has a symbol like that on their skin?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone that has a symbol like that. They probably painted it on themselves to make themselves feel special or something.¡± He replied. ¡°I heard my mom talking to dad and she said that where I was born, there was a baby with a green leaf on his shoulder. A noble came and took the baby and mother away.¡± She didn''t think he would believe that she remembered this happening. ¡°The first time I fell into that secret room we visited, a symbol showed up on my belly.¡± ¡°Nope! I¡¯ve seen your tummy and there is nothing on it! I¡¯m not falling for that.¡± He laughed at me thinking I was trying to trick him. ¡°No Sky, it''s the truth! The magic I got was the black swirl of illusion and the first aspect I unlocked was Disguise Self.¡± Dropping her illusion, she showed him the swirl symbol on her belly. ¡°Violet, you can''t just gain magic because you fell in a room with a fancy mural. I didn''t get magic when I fell in there.¡± She had expected the problem with revealing her magic was going to be convincing him that he needed to hide it. Letting out a sigh, she said ¡°Ok don''t freak out with what you see next.¡± Using her Decoy aspect, she created a doll-sized version of herself next to him. He of course freaked out, jumping up and running toward the door. Thankfully he did not yell or make any noise when he saw my decoy doll. ¡°No wait! I did that. The aspect I gained when you fell in the room with me was Decoy. It allows me to create a puppet that I can control.¡± She then changed the puppet to one that looked like him. This got his interest. He slowly got closer to her doll. She made the doll wave at him and he waved back. ¡°THAT IS SO COOL!¡± ¡°Shhhh! Don''t wake anyone up!¡± ¡°Oh sorry!¡± He then started talking a mile a minute asking her to make her decoys into different people and when he discovered she could make animals he was beside himself. Chapter 15 - Secret Expedition As the days went by, she told Sky almost all of her secrets including the fact that she had a decent grasp on the Runic language that everything was written in. The only thing she didn''t tell him about was that she came from another world. ¡°Do you know what it says by our doors?¡± he asked after learning her fluency with the local language. ¡°That is just the light and door control, I¡¯ve seen you use it before.¡± ¡°Well duh, I mean the other side.¡± She immediately jumped up to see what he was talking about. Sure enough, on the opposite side of the door from the light and door control, there was another set of words that she had never noticed before. It looked the same as the controls that were on the podium that she used way back when. Greetings Ancient One. ¡°Can you see that?¡± she asked. Sky nodded his head and then pushed on a bullet point. Nothing happened when he pushed it so he tried to push another one. After he was unable to get a reaction from the screen he said ¡°it''s broken.¡± She tried pushing on the top bullet point. You have no current assignments. <--Back Pressing the ¡°back¡± button, it returned her to the main screen. ¡°What does it say?¡± He asked. It was then that she realized that all of the writing was in English. That shocked her quite a bit. It would make more sense for the writing to be in Common or in Runic. With it being in English that means that the system is either hooked into her mind, which was scary, or the Ancient One that is constantly referenced was from her Earth. She translated what each option said but did not elaborate on which language it was written in. She next clicked on the map option. This brought up a bird¡¯s eye view of the entire area within the barrier. The controls to zoom in acted similarly to how they did in her old world so she was able to navigate fairly easily. What interested her the most was every structure was connected through an underground tunnel. At the very end of the corridor where her room was located, there was a door that led to a set of stairs. This confused her, she had been down the hallway and found a dead end. Unfortunately, it was far too late tonight for an adventure. ¡°Want to go on an adventure tomorrow night?¡± she asked, grinning at Sky. ¡°I¡¯ll be here as soon as I can slip away!¡±
When they reached the end of the hallway the following night, she was confused. The only thing at the end of this hallway was a fancy mural. It took several minutes of studying the mural in front of her to see the hidden symbol that operated the door. Once she was able to locate it, they quickly entered the staircase and started the long trek down. ¡°Why are there so many stairs?¡± Sky whined. ¡°I don''t mind going down, what I am worried about is going back up.¡± Sky let out a groan at that thought. She made a Mental Note to herself to try to find an elevator before they had to go back up these stairs. In her excitement at seeing the stairs, she didn''t look too closely at what was around them. An elevator might have existed somewhere. At the bottom of the stairs, they entered a large armory. Several rows of immaculate armor lined the walls. There were several styles of armor represented and each style had its separate section. Several low shelving units had weapons on display. The weapons ranged from mass-produced swords that all looked alike to ornate swords with gemstones and engraving on them. Weapons were also arranged by type. She could see battle axes, clubs, flails, swords, daggers, spears, polearms, and ranged weapons like bows and crossbows throughout the room. Except for the guards that were always around the Nobles, she had not seen any weapons in this world. Even the weapons the guards carried were simple compared to what was found down here. She had seen practical tools that could be turned into weapons like a knife or an ax, but nothing made explicitly for combat. She had expected Sky to be running around the room possibly trying on the armor. Curious, she asked, ¡°Why are you not taking a closer look?¡± ¡°Mom said only guards are allowed to carry weapons. I don''t want to be a guard. They have to stand in front of those stuffy Nobles and say nothing all day.¡± It was hard to argue with that logic. She figured it would do more harm than good to have someone find a weapon in her room or on her person. The white dress she wore was thin enough to outline anything that shouldn''t be underneath it. While she was trained to use a dagger for self-defense in her past life, she was not comfortable with the amount of risk involved with having one. Moving on, the long underground hallway between structures was unadorned. Upon reaching underneath the medium-sized structure, rather than armor, there were crafting stations. Tools of each craft were left organized in each section. The only thing missing from each station was raw materials to process. Making it underneath the largest structure, she followed the route she carefully mapped out. Using Visualization to check her progress at almost every turn. The hallways in the main structure were maze-like and easy to get lost in. She got very lucky before that leaving the secret room was nearly a straight shot to the door leading to the center column. It had taken her quite a while to even locate the secret room on the map. In the end, she looked for a void in the middle of an octagon with eight doors. If she hadn''t been there before, she never would have noticed it. ¡°The mural room is up ahead.¡± ¡°I hope you really know where you are going because I¡¯m lost. I don''t think I could even get back on my own.¡± As expected, after opening two more doors, she came to the area with the mural room. After inspecting the square room from the outside, she located the very faint and hidden ¡°open¡± symbol. ¡°Do you want to wait here or go in with me?¡± she asked as the wall was sliding open. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Don''t you dare leave me alone in here!.¡± ¡°Have you decided if you want to try to get magic or not?¡± ¡°What if something goes wrong? What if I don''t get Illusion like you did? What if they find me out and take me away? I don¡¯t want the bad men to take me!¡± was his emotional response. ¡°I will take that as a no then. Alright, come on in and don''t touch anything.¡± She walked to the center of the room and sat down next to the crystal. Studying the crystal while the outside light was still shining, she didn''t note anything special about it. It looked like a floor tile before it was touched. Touching the crystal once turned it on. After touching it a second time, she was transported to her mindscape dig site. She already knew what she was going to unearth and quickly got to work on the Cloaking aspect. Excavation integrity calculating¡­ 100% Congratulations, with your attention to detail and speed, a bonus of 9% synchronization has been added to this aspect at the start for a total of 10% To return for more aspects, you must have a total of 24% synchronization for illusion. Rather than immediately being kicked out of her mindscape, she was left inside of it. Confused, she brought up her Magic screen to see what could have gone wrong.
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 24%
Illusion 100% Disguise Self
Illusion 98% Decoy
Illusion 10% Cloaking
She had wasted so much time trying to find a way to return to the crystal that she was already at the threshold for another aspect. Unsure of which to choose, she narrowed it down to Shadow Blade or Enchant. Her heart wanted enchanting badly but she was still worried that outside reagents would be required that she did not have access to. In the end, she chose Shadow Blade. While she did not have any plans to use it on anyone, it would be convenient to always have a knife around if she wanted to cut something. Excavation integrity calculating¡­ 100% Congratulations, with your attention to detail and speed, a bonus of 10% synchronization has been added to this aspect at the start for a total of 11% To return for more aspects, you must have a total of 32% synchronization for illusion. This time, she was immediately dropped out of her mindscape after her excavation. Looking down, she touched the crystal one more time to see what would happen. Greetings Ancient One. You must have a minimum of 50% synchronization with your last magic obtained to choose another. Come back when you have grown more. That was exciting news. She had a new thing to daydream about it seems. Based on her calculations, she needed at least one more aspect of illusion before she would be able to unlock another school of magic. ¡°Did you get it?¡± ¡°Yep! I had the chance to get two more so I picked Cloaking and Shadow Blade.¡± Their trip back to their rooms was uneventful until they made it to the corridor containing their rooms. She could hear talking in the distance. Whispering to Sky she said ¡°I am going to use Cloaking on us. It takes lots of mana so it won''t last long. We need to hurry.¡± She had done the obligatory show and tell with Sky on their walk back. Cloaking herself was fairly easy but when she extended the cloak to Sky, her mana dropped fast. After the experimenting she did on the way back, she was down to 20% of her mana left. ¡°Okay when I take your hand, we run as fast as possible to your room.¡± The adults in the hallway appeared to be having a midnight tryst and both were leaning against the same wall. They were able to easily run around them and the quiet door opening did not alert them. Thankfully they had gone quite a ways down the hallway to have their extracurricular activities. She was able to drop Sky off at his room and sneak to her room before her mana pool hit 0.
Level 24
Age 5 1/2
Experience (29690/30000)
Health 210/210
Mana 5/700
Stat Points 115
Skill Points 4
Strength 16
Constitution 21
Dexterity 18
Intelligence 74
Wisdom 70
[Traits] [Skills] [Magic]
[Basic Skills]
Acting 30
Climbing 18
Drawing 10
Language - Common MAX
Mathematics 20
Meditation 20
Running 13
Writing 15
[Novice Skills]
Sneak 20
Visualization 28
[Advanced Skills]
Mental Notes 8
Language - Runic 9
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 25%
Illusion 100% Disguise Self
Illusion 98% Decoy
Illusion 10% Cloaking
Illusion 11% Shadow Blade
Chapter 16 - Learning The classes she had been forced to attend should be renamed to daycare. The teacher in charge of classes was more interested in singing and arts instead of reading and writing. The alphabet song was included in the songs they were forced to sing every day. There was useful information that she was able to learn as well. They referred to this world as Zogara and the country we were in was referred to as the Chromatic Dominion. Rather than having a king or an emperor, we had a Council of Eight. The council consisted of eight ancient nobles from each of the colors. Each color was ranked based on where it appeared in the rainbow. When she brought up that black and white were not on the rainbow, she was reprimanded for interrupting. She never did get an explanation of why black was on the top and white was at the bottom. It was just ¡°the way things are.¡± There were three tiers of ranks. Nobles were at the top and the least numerous. They were in charge of different areas or different groups of people. You can usually tell what a noble was in charge of based on the color of their robes. If their robes were more ornate, they were higher ranked. Nobles did not marry. They had harems that they could visit or if they were ranked high enough personal harems. The second and most numerous tier was called the citizens. This tier consisted of every able-handed body that was following the rules and meeting quotas. Violet¡¯s parents and by extension her, were part of the citizen tier of people. The last tier of people was the servants. There were a few ways to become a servant. If you were rebellious and spoke out about the color system, you were silenced and placed in a servant''s role. If you did not make your quota too many times, you could be punished temporarily with a sentence of servitude. The other way mentioned to become a servant was to insult a noble and have them assign it to you. If they refused to work when they were assigned to be a servant, then they were sent to do hard labor in dangerous mines. Life expectancy in the criminal mines was very low. Black was reserved for those who spread propaganda or were in charge of large areas. She likened those propaganda spreaders to the clergy. They were highly respected. Some highly trained guards wore black armor but they were always attached to a noble house. Doctors and Enforcers were assigned red as their color. Doctors were highly respected and able to dictate to nobles when it came to matters of health. The catch to that is if the decision was contested, another doctor would be brought in for a second opinion. If the first doctor was found wrong, they would be punished. Enforcers were what she thought of as the police force of this world. They were unattached to nobles but tasked with enforcing rules on the populous. Orange was worn by teachers and those who kept an accounting of what is happening. Usually, teachers would only be offered to children aged twelve and up. She was able to overhear that the pair of teachers assigned here were here because of a punishment. They were just unlucky enough to not be affected by the barrier sickness so they had to stay on assignment longer. Those that kept an accounting were harder to explain. The Chromatic Dominion did not use money of any sort. If there was a need for something, it would be provided. The only reason that she could find as to why this worked was nobody was going hungry no matter their rank or station in life. The accountants were in charge of counting productivity. If a craftsperson was not meeting their quota, it was their job to report it. Yellow was reserved for researchers, scribes, and high-level crafters. Researchers were assigned to develop new ways of doing things as well as decode works of the past that were found. Scribes were used to help spread propaganda through writing. They also hand-copied current books for distribution. The high-level crafters were the jewelers, alchemists, and engravers. Once you got to green, the professions got more numerous. This group of people made life easier or better in some physical way. Builders, plumbers, cooks, and innkeepers were the examples given in class. There were more that fit in this category but she was informed when they attended proper school they would learn more. Those that wore blue typically made life easier in a different way. They were the entertainers and artists of the dominion. Unsanctioned writing was not allowed. There were no books for romance or fantasy that could legally be found in the dominion. Purple was the backbone of the dominion. They were the farmers, foresters, weavers, miners (in safe mines), and any other physically demanding profession needed for everyday life. This group of people was not treated as lesser. It was of the general opinion that nobody wanted to work that hard, but those who did work that hard were respected by the other citizens. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. All children wear white until they are placed in a profession at the age of sixteen. It was a rather impractical color to place a child in. Dirt and grass stains were the bane of parents everywhere.
She turned six years old a few days before she made the next illusion threshold. Trying to decide which aspect she would go for was a difficult task. The aspects left for her to excavate were Dazzle, Fear, Hypnotize, Enchant, and Contracts. Enchant and Contracts were quickly eliminated as options for her. She did not have access to any materials that were not closely monitored. The workshops underneath the research facility only had tools in the work areas. There were no raw or finished products in that area at all. That left her Dazzle, Fear, and Hypnotize to choose from. Of those three, Fear and Hypnotize would require a willing (or unwilling) person for her to practice her aspect to gain synchronization. Torturing Sky with those two aspects would be cruel. She considered him her closest friend and did not want to use him as a test subject for such things. The only other aspect left to her that she could practice on her own was Dazzle. She could practice casting that spell in her room when she was alone at night. The door blocked all light from escaping and giving her game away. Getting to the mural room using the underground hallways was easy for them this time around. With Dazzle being the last of the ¡°super easy¡± aspects to uncover, she received a good bonus when she was able to quickly excavate it. Excavation integrity calculating¡­ 100% Congratulations, with your attention to detail and speed, a bonus of 10% synchronization has been added to this aspect at the start for a total of 11% To return for more aspects, you must have a total of 40% synchronization for illusion.
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 33%
Illusion 100% Disguise Self
Illusion 100% Decoy
Illusion 56% Cloaking
Illusion 30% Shadow Blade
Illusion 11% Dazzle
She decided that she would wait to come back until she was at 50% synchronization for Illusion. The reasoning being, the aspects left for her to obtain required test subjects or outside supplies that she did not have access to. She felt it was not worth the risk of possibly being caught missing from her room when she didn''t need another aspect to get to 50% overall in Illusion. Jade was sitting in her room when Violet returned from getting her latest aspect. She had to hold in a scream when she noticed the green-haired girl sitting on her bed. ¡°Where were you? I couldn''t find you or Sky.¡± Looking down, Violet mumbled, ¡°I went to explore with Sky.¡± ¡°You should have taken me too!¡± ¡°We were afraid you would tell your parents about it.¡± ¡°What''s wrong with that? Mommy said I shouldn''t keep secrets from my family¡± Jade replied raising her voice slightly. ¡°If they find out we will get in trouble and not be allowed to do it anymore. You don''t want that do you?¡± ¡°FINE! I won''t tell. Will you bring me with you next time?¡± ¡°I think we can do that. You should come over after the adults go to sleep. Sky comes over and we talk a lot.¡± Violet compromised. She figured it would be quite a while before she needed to head back to the mural room and it would be a good way to test if Jade could keep a secret. ¡°Did you hear the news?¡± Jade asked. ¡°News about what?¡± ¡°Mom said they found a whole room full of enchanted objects. She said most don''t work anymore because they ran out of mana or something but it was such a good find that everyone is going to be rewarded!¡± Chapter 17 - Reward The ¡°reward¡± that they received left much to be desired. As a reward, our glorious Noble Tennyson increased work hours for all researchers. All researchers and their families were moved into a large room in the main structure filled with multiple bunk beds. Privacy was now a thing of the past. To ensure the new shifts were being followed, an enforcer was stationed outside of the new bunk room. You were only allowed into the sleeping area if you were done with your assigned shift. Thankfully there were enough beds provided that we did not have to share a bed with an earlier shift. Sky, Jade, and her were put to work alongside their parents. All children of researchers were given the task of sorting each object by color and general shape and then carrying it to the assigned area for the adults to study. When the orange-clothed teachers gave a slight objection, Noble Tennyson said that the children should be thankful for on-the-job training. Thankfully, there were not enough enforcers to spare having them stationed anywhere but our sleeping area. Once out of sight of enforcers, their parents allowed the children quite a few breaks with the requirement of staying close in case anyone came to inspect. One benefit of working so close to the adults is that she was able to overhear news and gossip. The esteemed Noble Tennyson was rumored to be getting pressure from his superior. Having a lack of progress was not looking good for him. A week ago, a group of nobles arrived with the supply caravan and walked the operation with Tennyson. Shouting was heard from behind a closed door after they were done with the inspection. One pair of gossiping adults insinuated that he would have been replaced right then and there but they had not found another noble that could tolerate the barrier. With this big break of finding the enchanted objects, Noble Tennyson was pushing as hard as possible to receive fast results. This new development was both a blessing and a curse for Violet. When it was time for her to go back to the mural room, she had no idea how she was going to get there without being missed. At night, she could not find any secret doors in the sleeping area they were assigned. During the day, she was surrounded by the other children and adults the entire time. The only time she was allowed privacy was to use the restroom. She was happy to learn this old structure had plumbing for sewer and freshwater. Cloaking and Shadow Blade did not give off any light when she practiced them so she was able to continue practicing them behind the curtain on her bunk away from prying eyes. She was going to have to get creative to find a way to practice Dazzle. So far she had only been able to use that while she was using the privy. The one time she stayed in the privy too long, Jade was sent to look for her and bring her back. The room where all of the enchanting items were found had a nameplate outside of the doorway. Violet was able to read that it said ¡°Beginners enchanting experiments¡± on it. It amused her that this big find for the adults was considered to be at a beginner¡¯s level of enchanting. Most of the enchanted items were shaped like a ball or a square. The square had nice flat sides to work with and the ball provided a little bit of a challenge to keep proportions even on a rounded surface. She was unsure of why they were different colors. Her best guess would be they were trying to keep track of what the students were making by assigning a color to each individual. There were quite a few different shades of colors. The majority of the enchants that she could read were for illusion magic. The symbols for each aspect she already had were all present on the enchanted objects. There were also other symbols that she assumed caused the aspect to have an action it performed when activated. She couldn¡¯t wait to get the enchanting aspect so she could start to experiment with it. There were a few doors throughout the explored area of this section that the adults were unable to open. There was no talk about error messages like she had received for the barracks, but it made her curious on if she could open the ¡°locked¡± doors or not. She started to make a nuisance of herself by asking what was behind every door until the adults tired of answering her questions and told her to find out herself. After receiving permission to explore, Sky and Jade accompanied her on room exploration every time they were given a break. They were not allowed to go far and were expected back after a certain amount of time had passed, but she was happy to be able to explore. Most doors were clearly labeled on what the room was used for. The majority of the rooms in this area of the structure were classrooms. Many were generic names like ¡°Classroom 4¡± but there were a few that were more specific. She stopped when she read ¡°Decoy Classroom 1¡±. ¡°Let¡¯s go in this one,¡± she said to the others. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°That one looks like all the others we¡¯ve been in¡± Jade whined in response. Violet had not let Jade in on all of her secrets yet. Mainly because she was full of energy and liked to talk a mile a minute to anyone who would listen. To be fair, Jade had kept the few secrets Violet had told her a secret so far. ¡°Would you rather go back and be put back to work early when the adults see you?¡± Sky asked. ¡°Nope! I think this is a lovely room Violet!¡± There was nothing special about the decoy room. There were rows of tables with chairs behind them all facing toward the front of the classroom. She was unsure of what the teachers used to write on because there were no blackboards on the walls in any classroom she had inspected so far. She was just about to leave when Sky pointed to the back corner of the room. There was another mural on the wall that artistically portrayed illusion and more specifically the decoy aspect of it. ¡°Yes it is pretty, they have art all over the place why do you care about that one?¡± Jade asked. ¡°Can you keep a secret?¡± Sky asked. ¡°You know I can if I want to! What¡¯s so special about it?¡± ¡°Violet, do you think that mural is just like the one at the end of our barracks hall?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, lets go investigate and find out,¡± Violet replied while already on her way to the mural on the wall. It took a little bit of searching to locate the open symbol on the mural. Sky was the one to find the symbol this time. He has always been very perceptive of little things. He would make a great detective if they had such professions here. Nothing happened when he pushed the open symbol. It took Violet pressing it for the door to slide open. The room that was revealed appeared to be a living area. There was a couch and loveseat set up in front of a stone square on the wall. Thinking about television from Earth, Violet got closer to inspect the square. Greetings Ancient One. ¡°That¡¯s just gibberish, I can read and that doesn¡¯t say anything.¡± Jade was quick to comment. ¡°Not really, it is written in a secret language that only I know.¡± Violet gloated. She knew she shouldn''t gloat about that but the girl was getting on her nerves. Violet clicked on the second option before Jade could realize that the selections would not work for her. User Directory Violet Tidwell ##ERROR## no assigned number <-- Back The user directory appeared to be blank except for her own name. She did not fill out the entire section when she had added herself as an administrator. A lot of the forms did not make sense to her and she didn¡¯t want to put the wrong information down and get locked out of places because of it. She then clicked ¡°back¡± and clicked on 4 when she was returned to the main menu. News brought to you by ##ERROR## ##ERROR## ##ERROR## ##ERROR## <-- Back She clicked on the other options and found similar results. The only option she did not click was the alarm. It just didn¡¯t sound like a good idea to sound any alarms. They spread out to investigate the rest of the rooms they had just discovered. Violet chose a room to the left which ended up being a well-appointed bedroom. There was a desk with a comfortable-looking chair in one corner of the room. The bed took up the majority of the space in the center of the far wall. An entire wall was devoted to floor-to-ceiling dressers and shelving. Unlike the barracks, the dressers in this room still had clothing in them. The room she was in must have belonged to a woman because there were many varieties of dresses to be examined on the drawers. Many were black or had some form of black on them, but not all of them were. There were two more rooms identical to the room she just examined. In one of the rooms, there was men¡¯s clothing in the dressers. There was a large selection of pants, shorts, kilts, and robes to choose from. While the rooms were spotless, she found it odd that so much clothing was left behind. Walking back into the living room, she saw Jade climbing in a cabinet on the wall. Curious she asked, ¡°What did you find in there?¡± Jade poked her head out grinning from ear to ear. ¡°Look! I can color now whenever I want.¡± In her hand, she had a stack of paper and quite a few colored sticks. Upon closer inspection of the colored sticks, she saw that they were what looked like colored pencils or pens. It was interesting because they only made color on the paper and not on the walls or her hand when she tried it. Sky chose that moment to come in from another room she had not investigated yet. ¡°There is a whole town out there!¡± Chapter 18 - Town They all raced to the door that Sky had just come out of. After exiting the room, it felt like she had stepped outside. There was a walkway in front of the door with a clear glass railing on the opposite side. Looking up, there was an illusion of blue sky and white fluffy clouds lazily moving across the ceiling. They were on the top floor of an open area that stretched at least ten floors below them. Walking up to the railing and looking down gave her vertigo. Holding on to the railing, she tried to look at the bottom floor. It was hard to see details at this height, but she saw a large fountain and many grassy areas. Directly across from her, the sidewalls of the area were slanted. Based on the slant, they were at the very edge of the pyramid-like structure. Another illusion played along the slanted walls. In the higher parts of the illusion, there were butterflies and various birds soaring around in a simulated sky. There was a small breeze inside the area. Not enough to be a nuisance, but enough to feel like the air was fresh. She did not notice any distinctive smells while she was standing there. Soon, she felt a nagging thought in the back of her head. They had been gone for far too long. ¡°We¡¯ll come back here tomorrow to explore. We need to get back before we are missed.¡± And so the days of exploration continued on in this fashion. After finding the first mural door, they were able to locate one in almost every classroom that only Violet could open. The top floor mainly had classrooms that were accessible from the entry corridor into this section. She theorized that when this building was populated, this main structure was used for teaching the different types of magic. Access to the other sections would be needed to verify her theory. Many of the bedrooms she inspected had personal possessions left in them. Not a single bed was unmade or any clothing was found on the floor. All items were on shelves or in drawers. She didn¡¯t believe that every single person in this building could be that tidy. The only explanation she could think of was the probability of maid service being part of the ¡°services¡± referenced on the fake TV. That sent her mind tumbling down a rabbit hole of enchanted maid golems to clean. Possibly even robots using enchantment instead of electronics. There was a distinct lack of anything electronic that she had found on Zogara since she was born here. Some kind of catastrophe hit this area that caused everyone to flee with very little of their possessions. Maybe the robots gained AI and forced everyone out. She shut down that line of thinking right away, mainly because she had not seen a single golem or robot since coming to this ancient site. There would have been at least one in the armory beneath the barracks if they existed.
While wandering the halls of the structure and reading every bit of writing she could find, she gained her last skill point in the Runic language. She felt comfortable reading and understanding anything she found in that language. [Skill increase: Language - Runic +1 (MAX)] With all of the magic practice she had been doing, her skills had suffered for it. The only skills she increased were the ones that she was forced to do or that were convenient for her. Running, Writing, Visualization, Mental Notes, and Language - Runic were the only skills she had leveled in the last six or so months. The days seemed to run together and it would be difficult for her to keep track of her own age if it wasn¡¯t on her status sheet.
Level 26
Age 6 1/2
Experience (34290/35100)
Health 220/220
Mana 720/720
Stat Points 125
Skill Points 5
Strength 17
Constitution 22
Dexterity 19
Intelligence 75
Wisdom 72
[Traits] [Skills] [Magic]
[Basic Skills]
Acting 30
Climbing 18
Drawing 10
Language - Common MAX
Mathematics 20
Meditation 20
Running 17
Writing 20
[Novice Skills]
Sneak This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. 20
Visualization 30
[Advanced Skills]
Mental Notes 10
Language - Runic MAX
Many of her skills were at a skill threshold where she would need to give an extra effort to try and level them up a little differently. With her focus being mainly on magic, putting extra effort into skills that were not immediately useful to her was put on the back burner. Mental Notes took quite a lot of practice to level up. It was an advanced skill that was created by her desire and need to have a place to privately write her thoughts and notes. Magic came easily for her to learn. It helped that when she gained an aspect, information about what could be possible with it was planted in her mind to slowly trickle to her as she practiced with it. She had passed the threshold she needed to obtain another aspect not too long ago. The problem of how to get to her secret room still remained. While she was given a little bit of freedom during the day to explore, they were never let free for more than a half-hour at a time. She was also not willing to trust the chatty Jade with the secret of her magic so ¡°getting lost¡± for the two hours it would take her to get there and back would not be easy or even possible with Jade around. Even if she ran in both directions, it would take a minimum of forty-five minutes to get there, and then she would have to turn around and run back.
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 42%
Illusion 100% Disguise Self
Illusion 100% Decoy
Illusion 89% Cloaking
Illusion 57% Shadow Blade
Illusion 26% Dazzle
While she could see out of her decoy¡¯s eyes when she had it out, there was a limit on how far away she could be from it before it disappeared. Through various testing, she found that the furthest she could be from her decoy was about 300 feet. That was about the length of a football field. While it was an impressive distance, it was not far enough for her to be able to reach the secret room. Her decoy acted like a zombie, mindlessly following her orders. It could not respond verbally to anyone and the limitation of nobody being able to touch it hindered her use of it during the day. Anyone who tried to interact with her decoy would notice something wrong fairly quickly. Lately, she had been using her decoy to explore the town on the other side of the classrooms. So far she had found a whole lot of the same thing. She couldn¡¯t use her decoy to go down a floor due to the distance problem. The stairway heading to the next floor was on the far side of the walkway from where she was located during the day.
More researchers started arriving about a month after the enchanted objects were found. Many were unable to stay, but over the course of six months, the number of researchers doubled. All children were still put to work alongside their parents, but there was less to move now. The new focus for the children was to organize by symbol and then by color. Even with the new influx of people, there were only one hundred adults and around thirty children researching hundreds of thousands of enchanted items. Once one hundred adults were found, the influx of people stopped once again. To accommodate the number of people living in the Illusion area, classrooms were converted into living arrangements. Each classroom held twenty adults. This would have been ideal for Violet to allow her to slip away at night to go get her new aspects and magic. Unfortunately, her family and several other ¡°original¡± families were left in the first room used for sleeping arrangements. She still did not have access to a way to get to her secret room. She was on her bed practicing making her Shadow Blade different shapes and sharpnesses when a message popped up in front of her nearly scaring her to death. Thankfully it also caused her to lose her concentration on Shadow Blade or she probably would have cut herself. Congratulations! For gaining 50% synchronization with a type of magic, you have earned 10,000 experience. Continue on this path to earn more rewards! [Level Up +1 (27)] [Level Up +1 (28)] [Level Up +1 (29)] [Level Up +1 (30)] It was always odd to her that magic did not give her experience of any sort for leveling her aspects. Magic was broken in her opinion. Once she mastered an aspect, the cost of mana to use that aspect dropped dramatically. Her most expensive spells were when they involved someone else or if they could be used offensively. Both Shadow Blade and Dazzle cost her quite a bit of mana to use for any length of time. They were slower to level because of this. She was still unable to unlock the stat and skill points on her status screen. It was her hope that they were locked behind an age barrier of some sort instead of needing outside help to use her points. Maybe when she was shipped off to school at twelve years old? With her luck, it will be when she is assigned a profession at sixteen. Depending on which profession she was placed in, she had up to two more years of school after that. Doctors, Accountants, and Teachers all had to stay the full two years. If she became an enforcer, she would be sent to what she likened to boot camp. When she asked if girls could be enforcers too, the teacher informed her that it was possible but it very rarely happens for girls to be assigned that profession. It was difficult for her to see what it was like in a normal city. Over half of her life on Zogara was spent at the site of an ancient ruin. It was unlikely that she would leave this place until she turned twelve and was forced to attend school.
¡°Happy Birthday!¡± Jade yelled while sneaking up behind her. ¡°You turn seven today that means I¡¯m six and a half! Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?¡± Violet jumped when Jade popped out of nowhere to yell that at her. She then proceeded to tune the green-haired girl out. Sheesh, could that girl talk a mile a minute! Thankfully she never expected actual answers to her excessive chatter-filled questions. Sky just rolled his eyes at Jade¡¯s antics. Age was very important to Jade because she was the youngest of their trio and she wanted to keep up. Sky whispered to her while Jade continued to prattle on in the background, ¡°Have you found a way there yet?¡± Violet just shook her head and sighed. He had been trying to come up with ways for her to get away ever since she told him she hit 50%. Even if he was able to distract Jade during the day, it wasn¡¯t worth getting punished for staying out longer than thirty minutes. Another group of kids had done that and now all of their breaks were supervised by an adult. Thankfully that supervision did not apply to those who were following the rules. ¡°No, and at this point, I can get three aspects when I go next time,¡± Violet whispered back to him.
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 54%
Illusion 100% Disguise Self
Illusion 100% Decoy
Illusion 100% Cloaking
Illusion 98% Shadow Blade
Illusion 84% Dazzle
She was unsure of which aspect she would not take when she did find a way to the secret room. The decision had been narrowed down between Fear and Contracts. She really didn¡¯t have a use for either of those aspects but they could end up being useful. It was difficult to judge what each one did solely based on the name. For all she knew, Fear could remove fear from herself and Contracts could be a way to issue quests. She didn¡¯t know but anything was possible with magic. A quest system was probably just wishful thinking on her part based on fantasy novels that she read from her old world. Chapter 19 - Bright Ideas Her bright idea hit her when one of the other children came down with an illness. A girl named Amy came down with a fever and a rash that covered a large portion of her body. The doctors ordered her quarantined in a classroom by herself until the rash cleared up and she was feeling better. Violet was not sure how she could fake a fever but she could easily give herself a rash with her Disguise Self aspect. After allowing a week to pass after Amy was allowed out of quarantine, Violet made her move. She had no access to hot water or heating pads to make her seem warmer than she truthfully was. In the end, having a rash she hoped was good enough along with acting sick. In the morning when it was time to get up for their shift of research, Violet stayed in bed. When her father came to check on her, she weakly moaned out that she didn¡¯t feel good. He took one look at the rash all over her face and hands and went to get a doctor. Her mother poked her head in next and sat down on her bed with her. [Skill increase: Acting +1 (31)] She felt slightly bad for causing the worried look on her mother¡¯s face. Not that she was any stranger to faking illness to avoid school in her past life. Every child has faked illness at some point to get out of doing something. Having the mentality of an adult caused Violet to act more mature than other children did even when she was trying to act like a child. It was a little confusing when neither of her parents touched her forehead to check for a fever. They had both made a point to not touch her at all when they noticed the rash on her face. She was just wondering if this was a good idea when the doctor arrived in a huff. ¡°Move. Did you touch her?¡± a man in red said as he walked up. When my mother shook her head he said ¡°That is good, I don''t want to have to quarantine you too. Keep your distance while I examine your daughter.¡± The doctor was cool and clinical as he examined her. ¡°Strip¡± he ordered. She slowly sat up to comply. Apparently, she was not quick enough because he wrenched her dress off as she was trying to work it over her head. He touched her as little as possible as he looked at the rash she had designed for herself. She did not get a good look at Amy before she was quarantined so she decided to give herself a rash that looked like poison ivy. ¡°You will be quarantined until this rash goes away.¡± To my parents, he said, ¡°Burn her sheets and clothing after the room is prepared. Wash your hands often and avoid touching others for a few days.¡± When the quarantine room was prepared, the doctor returned to oversee her movement. ¡°Follow that guy, don''t touch anything, do not get anywhere near anybody. You are to maintain at least six feet of distance between yourself and others. When we arrive at the room, he will open the door and you are to enter before the door closes.¡± There was no compassion given from the doctor at all. He acted like it was her fault for getting sick. Technically it was, but he didn¡¯t know that! She was told that under no uncertain terms was she allowed to touch anything except her bed. Nothing was provided for her entertainment while she was in quarantine. With nothing to do and the possibility of someone coming in to check on her randomly, she sat cross-legged on the bed and sank into Meditation. She had a theory that she could use Meditation to help her remember things from her old life. Today¡¯s goal was to remember as many song lyrics as possible. Her library of partially remembered lyrics was growing as she tried to hang on to pieces of her past life. Unfortunately, she had quite a few songs with ¡°something something dum dum¡± instead of words. Writing sounds is very difficult to do, she never realized how many ways she could sing ¡°dum dun and bum be bum¡± Sadly, many of the songs she remembered the majority of the words for were oldies or the twangy country music her father used to insist on listening to on long car rides. Having tears in beers was just too catchy to not get stuck in her head no matter how much she tried to block it out. Some of the ¡°modern-day¡± lyrics she knew the full words for were songs like ¡°Around the world¡± (yeah those are the full lyrics for the whole song) as well as songs talking about who run da world. She found those songs both sad and amusing when she thought of them. She also had a small library of books she had read in the past. Granted those ¡°books¡± were the watered-down plots that she could remember but she wanted to keep those memories. Movies were another bigger section of watered-down plots. When she got bored and wanted a break from her magic practice, she would go through and fill in any blanks she remembered. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The first person to visit her was wearing gloves and holding a tray of food. He did not even acknowledge her as he set the food tray down on the floor and left the room. Was she in prison or quarantine? She was quite happy to see food as she had missed breakfast with her illness shenanigans. Under the lid on the tray was cold porridge that looked like it had sat around all morning. She decided to wait for lunch and hope for a better result. To occupy herself, she made up an alphabet game. She decided to keep a Mental Note of her better tries. Though ¡°better¡± was a relative thing. This exercise challenged her mind and often gained her points in intellect or wisdom. ¡®A is for apple that grows off a Branch.¡¯ ¡®B is for a branch that can be Cut.¡¯ ¡®C is for a cut that she found on her Dress.¡¯ She wasn¡¯t very good at it, but it kept her mind occupied and off of her rumbling stomach. There was nothing wrong with her appetite and the longer she waited the more that cold porridge started to look edible. She was starting to slightly regret using being sick as an excuse to be left alone. The idea of getting another school of magic kept her going through the long boring hours. Lunch never came. She was left staring at the cold porridge all day. After several hours, her mother was escorted into the room. Thankfully she was holding a tray of hopefully warm food. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°My tummy hurts and I¡¯m itchy everywhere,¡± Violet whined in answer. ¡°Oh honey, get your rest tonight and if you are feeling worse in the morning we will call the doctor back to check on you.¡± She looked like she wanted to hug her sick little girl but held herself back after a glance at her chaperone. ¡°The doctor gave strict orders that nobody is allowed to open that door unless it is for breakfast or dinner. I will try to come back when it is time for breakfast to see you.¡± With those parting words, Violet was once again left alone. This was extremely good news for Violet. She was worried she was going to have to worry about people checking on her at all hours. With this bit of news, she made plans to wait a few hours and then use the secret door in her room to make her way down to the mural room. She was sad that Sky would not be accompanying her this time. While she waited for enough time to pass, she went over the decisions she had made about the aspects and magic she would be choosing. For her Illusion aspects, she decided that she would be excavating Fear, Hypnotize, and Enchant. She knew she would eventually get the Contracts aspect so she didn¡¯t mind waiting on getting that one. For which magic to take, that took many long nights of chatting with Sky before they were moved to decide on. As soon as she realized that she would be able to get another school of magic she spent many days daydreaming about what she would pick. It was still a common thing to debate with Sky when no one was close enough to overhear them. There were some choices that they discounted right from the start. Fire, nature, and water would be next to impossible to level up while she was stuck inside a building and rarely left unsupervised. Fire would cause smoke and be flashy when she accidentally set her bed on fire while trying to practice. For nature, she didn¡¯t have access to the outdoors at all anymore. Even back when she was discussing it with Sky in the barracks, they were only allowed outside to run laps around the building. There were also zero animals in a very large radius of this area for her to interact with. While she drank water every day, finding an unsupervised water faucet would be a difficulty. She was not on kitchen duty and only had an excuse to use the faucet when she washed her hands. If she could create water, what would she do with it after she conjured it? Sky argued for earth magic because they were surrounded by tons of stone that she could manipulate. She was not against that idea but she countered back that air is easier to hide and everywhere around them as well. For convenience, she felt that earth was the better choice of the two. She could create or shape her own objects to use for enchanting. Healing was brought up but quickly shot down after they thought about it a little longer. If she went around healing people it would be noticed right away. She did not want to harm herself to practice healing magic. Sky said he was not going to be her test subject either. When she brought up spatial magic, Sky was confused about why she would want that. To him, spatial magic was what stargazers used to tell the future. There were several children¡¯s tales in this world making fun of ¡°false prophets¡± who told the future in the stars. She felt that was more propaganda than anything else but ultimately not worth arguing about. There wasn¡¯t very much information available to her on what a spatial mage could do. If information about that type of magic was being stifled, that means the dominion was afraid of that type of magic for one reason or another. She planned to pick this one up after the most practical magic that she knew of. The decision ultimately came down to earth or air. Being able to manipulate stone to make enchanting easier sealed the deal for her. All of the enchanted items that the adults were studying were made of colored stone. She knew they were beginner pieces but she had to start somewhere. Chapter 20 - New Magic With her decisions firmed up, she went to the door and put her ear against it to listen for any activity. After five minutes of absolute silence, she made her way over to the secret door and left the room. To get to the secret room, she only had a vague outline of where she needed to go. When she was studying the map from the barracks, she was more worried about plotting out her route from there instead of seeing all of the corridors in the main building. She decided that she would use the walkway with the glass railing to go as far as possible in the correct direction. Once she got to the end of the walkway, she entered through the dwelling to get into the classroom on the other side. Carefully exiting the classroom, she made a short walk to the end of the hall. She had never entered from this direction before so it shocked her when she found another hidden doorway at the end of the hallway. From the other direction, this doorway looked normal. When she arrived at the mural room, she was not given the choice of another magic right away. It would seem she needed to pick up new aspects before she can see about getting another type of magic. Back in her dig site mindscape, she had one aspect to unearth from the middle row and three left in the hardest last row. Deciding to get the easiest of her options done first, she got to work excavating the Fear aspect object. It was another complex object that she needed to take a little bit of extra care on to not break any of the fragile roots. Excavation integrity calculating¡­ 100% Congratulations, with your attention to detail and speed, a bonus of 9% synchronization has been added to this aspect at the start for a total of 10% Moving on to the next aspect she wanted to uncover, she moved up to the back left square. This square held the object for the Hypnotize aspect. The ground in this square was difficult to work in. It was hard-packed earth except for the areas she had previously broken up to find the aspect in this section. When she was about three-quarters of the way done uncovering a very complex root-like object, disaster struck. She had let her mind wander and her moment of inattention caused her to snap off a chunk of the object she was trying to excavate. Cursing to herself, she took even more time and care to uncover the remaining parts of the object. Excavation integrity calculating¡­ 80% Due to damage caused in the excavation process, no bonus synchronization will be awarded. This aspect will start at 1% synchronization. Be aware, anything less than 80% integrity will begin to degrade the effects of an aspect. Phew, she dodged a bullet there! She did not even want to think about what degraded effects would mean.
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 56%
Illusion 100% Disguise Self
Illusion 100% Decoy
Illusion 100% Cloaking
Illusion 98% Shadow Blade
Illusion 87% Dazzle
Illusion 10% Fear
Illusion 1% Hypnotize
Wow, she barely had enough synchronization to get her third aspect. The system gave her a new aspect for every 8% overall synchronization with Illusion. After giving herself a mental breather, she started to work on the third and in her opinion most important aspect for tonight, Enchant. It was in the center plot which is why she chose to get Hypnotize first. That way she could use all but one side of the plot square and not have to worry about damaging another aspect. She was thankful for the time freeze that happened every time she entered her mindscape. Having to worry about being found missing on top of the delicate work of uncovering the aspects would have had her almost unfunctional by this point. As it was she was extremely nervous about damaging Enchant. Excavation integrity calculating¡­ 98% Congratulations, with your attention to detail, a bonus of 4% synchronization has been added to this aspect at the start for a total of 5% To return for more aspects, you must have a total of 64% synchronization for illusion. Finding herself back in the mural room, she took a moment to celebrate and then relax a little bit before doing anything more. After about five minutes she was too excited to rest any longer. She quickly touched the crystal one more time to get her next magic. Greetings Ancient One. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Are you ready to decide your next type of magic? Y/N? Clicking yes, she held her breath in anticipation. Orange of earth magic was going to be her next system exploit. Ok, it wasn¡¯t really an exploit, but magic was overpowered. The huge circle of colors was once again brought up in her vision. Unlike last time, this time there were only seven colors on the wheel. As she watched the wheel began to spin and her heart sank. ¡°What! NO! I want to choose this time!¡± The system paid her no mind as the wheel started to slow down. Purple went by, then white, slowly red went by looking like it may stop there until it had one last burst of motion flipping it over to blue. Fate smiles upon you, Water shall be yours. She once again found herself in her mindscape dig site. The illusion area looked exactly as she had left it not too long ago, but when she looked at the water area quite a bit had changed. There was a giant tank surrounding the dig section for water. No longer were there any orderly squares marked off. Due to your limitless trait, the maximum limit of magic schools adding up to 100% has been removed. Gaining new aspects will become more difficult. Getting closer to her newest challenge, the lip of the tank was only two feet off of the ground. If water was placed the same as illusion was, that meant she had three ¡°easy¡± aspects within reach of the front edge. She would need to be careful to not kick up too much of the sediment while she was searching for the aspects or it would be difficult to see. Looking further in, the middle section appeared to be in two feet of water and the farthest section would require her to get in the pool to reach the bottom. She hoped she would pick up a few water aspects to help her with those sections. Swimming down to unbury delicate aspects while holding her breath did not sound like an easy thing for her to do. She had plenty of time to worry about the future later. For now, she set her sights on the front section of one-foot-deep water. The first thing she did was take her bucket and start bailing out as much water as possible. It was a large pool but she thought given enough time she could eventually empty it or at least drain it quite a bit. After over an hour of bailing water, she gave up on that method of attack. The water level never fell. If she could have removed the water, that would have made this challenge quite simple. The water loosened dirt would be easy to carefully remove from the aspects. She carefully ran her hands along the bottom of the pool to feel if any of the aspects could easily be located. When she did not feel anything right away, she started filling her bucket with soil. Thankfully when she dumped the soil over the side, it disappeared and did not reappear back inside the tank. You have located the aspect for Create Water. To obtain this aspect, you must completely unearth it. If the aspect becomes damaged, it is possible to lose it or obtain a weak version of it. Proceed with caution. Create Water didn¡¯t sound so bad. She would need to practice near a drain but she could find a way to do that slowly over time. Two more aspects should be easy enough for her to uncover so she got back to work. You have located the aspect for Ice Shards. You have located the aspect for Water Manipulation. Ice Shards sounded like an attack spell, but Water Manipulation had merits. She needed to decide if she wanted to be able to manipulate water that was already there or create water. Making up her mind, she got to work excavating her choice. Excavation integrity calculating¡­ 100% Congratulations, with your attention to detail, a bonus of 5% synchronization has been added to this aspect at the start for a total of 6% To return for more aspects, you must have a total of 8% synchronization for Water.
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 56%
Illusion 100% Disguise Self
Illusion 100% Decoy
Illusion 100% Cloaking
Illusion 98% Shadow Blade
Illusion 87% Dazzle
Illusion 10% Fear
Illusion 1% Hypnotize
Illusion 5% Enchant
Water 1%
Water 6% Water Manipulation
Congratulations! For gaining your second type of magic, you have earned 5,000 experience. [Level Up +1 (31)] [Level Up +1 (32)] Looking down, she noticed a new mark on her belly. This one was a blue teardrop located next to her belly button not far from where her swirl mark was. Using Disguise Self, she was able to hide that mark just as easily as her previous mark. The rash on her skin continued to catch her eye whenever she was not paying attention. She had decided to leave the rash on her skin because it did not cause her any extra effort and if she got caught somehow, she wouldn''t have to worry about quickly remembering how it looked before and recreating it. As she went to touch the mural to exit, she noticed that the words now made sense to her. Well, she could read them, they still didn¡¯t make much sense. Long ago the Ancient Ones bound their souls in a cycle of reincarnation. Divinations foretold a catastrophe that threatened all human life. To combat this, a barrier was created to preserve the knowledge they will need to save humanity upon their return. When the barrier beings to fail, the Ancient Ones will return to bring salvation to the chained ones. Wait a minute! She read and reread the mural on the wall. Why did the system keep calling her Ancient One? She was reincarnated yes, but only once that she knew of. The system must have it wrong, she did not feel like some savior who will save ¡°chained ones.¡± Deciding that the system was mistaken, she committed the mural to memory with her Visualization skill and tried to forget about it. She had quite a bit to think about on her long walk back to her room. But first, she wanted to see if her gamble had paid off. Using her newest aspect, Water Manipulation, she manipulated the humidity out of the air and caused it to condense into a few drops on her hand. That little bit taxed her mana pool greatly but it was worth it in her opinion. She couldn¡¯t create water from nothing, but she could use her past life knowledge to pull the water that already existed out of the air. There was not very much moisture in the air. This was probably due to the enchantment this structure used to keep everything at controlled levels. She was probably going to have quite a hard time when she finally left this place getting used to normal weather. Another thing that was on her mind was the system talking about usual people having a maximum of 100% magic. If that were true, then normal people could only have a maximum of two different types of magic. The requirement for gaining another magic was 50% overall synchronization. No wonder why the system was trying to make it harder for her inside her mindscape. She had the potential to be extremely powerful. She wondered how sentient the system was. The mindscape that she was always dropped in had tools and items she has only seen in her past life. She was pretty sure her clothing alone would never be acceptable here. Based on the lack of emotion she got when reading anything from the system, she felt that the system was artificial intelligence that had not made the leap to emotion and sentience yet. Shaking herself out of her musings, she just remembered that she had obtained Enchant. In preparation for her to receive the enchanting aspect, she had slowly squirreled away several different types of enchanted objects. She made sure to only take those that were in abundance so they would not be missed. The adults had not gotten around to taking an accounting of how many of each type were found and organized yet because they were still in the process of organizing them. That and she had overheard one of the adults saying that if they wanted an accounting of how many of each type there were, then they had better get an actual accountant over here to count it all. They had better things to be doing. Chapter 21 - Enchanting Back in her cell, Violet quickly jotted down a little bit of the information she was given about enchanting tonight in her Mental Notes. Enchants came in three varieties, permanent, semi-permanent, and temporary. She was unsure of how to even begin making a permanent enchant. For the semi-permanent enchants, she had plenty of examples of those with the enchanted objects the adults found. Temporary enchants erase or destroy themselves upon their use. She was mentally exhausted from her trials to get new aspects. Her mana was also low from playing with Water Manipulation on her walk back to her room. As a result of this, she fell asleep quickly when her head finally hit her pillow. Amy had been quarantined for a week and she planned to take advantage of having so much alone time to practice. The next morning, she was rudely awakened by the lights being turned on to their highest setting. Sitting up, she covered her eyes with her hand until her eyes could adjust to the light. By the time she was able to open her eyes and not be blinded, nobody was in the room and a tray was left on the floor in front of the door. She was really starting to question if she were in prison instead of quarantine. There was porridge left for her on the tray that was not quite hot anymore but at least it wasn¡¯t cold. She ate it quickly to avoid it getting any colder. As she was eating, she began to get excited about the events from last night. While she wouldn''t have chosen water magic, she was going to make the best of it. After her meal was consumed, she went up to the door and put her ear on it to listen for any activity. Just like last time, she did not hear anyone on the other side. There shouldn''t be a reason for her door to need to be guarded so that made sense. Going out to retrieve the enchanted objects that she had hidden, it took her a few minutes to reorient herself to find the right room. Once she found the correct room, she created a Decoy of herself so she could move the items twice as fast. Even at one or two objects a day, she had still managed to gather quite a few of them. She chose a sampling of four different cubes to start experimenting on and then left the remainder of the objects in the dwelling connected to the secret door she was next to. Getting caught with these objects would lead to consequences for more than just her so she was careful to find a hiding place for the objects inside the room she was in. There were not many places so she settled for placing them under a spare blanket. If she fluffed it just right, you couldn''t notice anything was under it. The system was surprisingly unhelpful when it came to the information she received about enchanting. She knew about the three types and had a vague idea of what might be possible, but no manual to walk her through it. Not that any of her other aspects had a manual. Thinking about it, she also noted that she didn¡¯t have a very good idea of how to use Hypnotize either. The third-tier aspects seem to be harder to just pick up and use. Thankfully she had a lot of examples to help her on her way to understanding how to Enchant. Picking up the first cube, she started studying it. She was looking for some kind of mechanism to recharge it or even just understand what was going on with it. The symbol on the side of the cube she was currently looking at was for Dazzle. Right next to the symbol, was a slight depression where a finger might fit. On a hunch, she pressed the depression while thinking about activating her Enchant aspect. Doing this brought up a simple menu. Jumping a little bit at the sudden menu that popped up caused her to move her finger enough to lose the menu. After bringing the menu up once again, she decided the safest option would be for her to view the enchant. A voice in her head started speaking ¡°Dazzle fifteen seconds after it has been touched.¡± She immediately dropped the cube and looked around the room for the voice of the person who was just talking. Taking a moment to calm down and let her heart stop racing, she thought about what she just heard. ¡®That sounded like what the enchanter wanted to happen.¡¯ Hands shaking, she picked up the cube once again. To test her theory, she selected the option to view the enchant once again. Once again she could hear the voice in her head explaining what the enchant does. ¡®Talk about false advertising! I view with my eyes, not my ears!¡¯ She decided to view the other cubes she had brought in with her. There was a wide variety of things that the enchants could do. On one cube, it would cause her hair to turn black for two hours. On another, it created a small bird for a few minutes. The only thing the cubes had in common was that they all used aspects of Illusion. She thought it might be because these were all beginner enchanting cubes. She was just sitting on her bed to think when the door opened a little bit earlier than expected. The enchanted objects were already safely placed on the other side of the secret door so she had nothing to hide. After a moment of delay, the lady doctor entered the room. ¡°My husband informed me that we have another rash case. I am here to verify if we have a serious problem or not. Please remove your dress so I may examine your rash.¡± Where the doctor she had yesterday was cool and almost rude, this doctor was friendly and at least acted like she was worried about Violet. To her knowledge, there were only the two doctors who ended up staying with the research party. After a thorough examination of her rash, the doctor spoke once again. ¡°If I didn¡¯t know any better I would think you were out playing in some bushes. We will keep an eye on it, but I don''t believe this is something that will spread to others. To be safe we are going to keep you in here until your rash has cleared up. Don''t itch it.¡± ¡°Do you know how long this will last?¡± ¡°Probably not longer than a week or two for it to fully clear up. I¡¯ll have some cream brought up that will help with the itching and clear this up faster. If we don''t see improvement in a few days, I will need to come back to run some tests.¡± ¡°Thank you miss¡­ what should I call you?¡± ¡°Doctor Amelia is my name¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Thank you, Doctor Amelia. I¡¯ll try not to scratch it.¡± The doctor left with a wave and a smile on her face. Now all Violet needed to do was wait for dinner to arrive before she could go back to experimenting with enchanting. She hoped all of her future interactions with a doctor were with Amelia. Not too long after Doctor Amelia left, her father was escorted into her room holding her dinner tray. She jumped up wanting to give him a hug but she stopped herself before she got too close. Seeing a parent at least once a day will make this self-imposed isolation easier. She never realized how much she craved social interaction. Poor Amy must have been bored and lonely when she was in quarantine. ¡°Hi daddy! Doctor Amelia said I should get better soon and then you and mom don''t have to worry anymore.¡± ¡°Hello sweetie that is good news! How are you feeling? Your mom sends her love¡± ¡°I¡¯m still itchy but I don''t think the rash has spread any further.¡± They chatted back and forth about what had happened since yesterday until the escort got tired of waiting and forced her dad to leave. Violet ate her dinner and got ready for a long night of enchanting. She hoped she could find a way to make a timer or a way to tell time while she was practicing her enchanting. The first thing she did when she got tired of waiting for everyone to fall asleep was to find the most harmless enchanted object to recharge. She decided on an object with dazzle on it set to go off a few seconds after it was touched. It was easy enough for her to close her eyes right after touching the cube to see the effect. This was where she found her first roadblock. Do you wish to recharge this item for 650 mana? She only had a total of 740 mana. There was no way she would be able to get quality practice tonight if she recharged that item. The enchant she had chosen to recharge was one of the most basic ones she had access to. A normal person her age would likely have a lot less mana than she did. It was clear that enchanting was an advanced skill that required people to have their stat points unlocked.
Level 32
Age 7
Experience (49600/52800)
Health 250/250
Mana 740/740
Stat Points 155
Skill Points 6
Strength 18
Constitution 25
Dexterity 20
Intelligence 77
Wisdom 74
[Traits] [Skills] [Magic] Not wanting to lose all of her mana right away, she decided to try the other option available to her. She wasn¡¯t sure what salvage did but it sounded destructive. If the item did get destroyed she wanted to do it on one of the duplicates she had. Setting Dazzle on a delay timer was a very popular enchant so she had quite a few of them. She selected the option and waited for the message to appear. *WARNING* You are not the owner of this enchant. You may only receive a partial synchronization percentage back if you salvage your own enchants. *WARNING* This enchant does not have any charged mana left to be refunded. Do you wish to salvage this enchant? You will receive 0% synchronization for Dazzle and 0 mana back as a result. Y/N? This was an interesting development. Clicking ¡°Y¡± she was left with an unblemished stone cube in her hands. The symbol that had once been displayed on one side of the cube was now gone. Even the depression where she put her finger was smooth and flush with the side of the cube. It looked like the only benefit for her to salvage the cubes she had was to gain an object to place her own enchant on. The next logical thing for her to try was to create her own enchant. She decided to keep things simple and use the Dazzle delay option for her first try. Holding the now empty cube and thinking of enchanting it brought up a menu. Enchanting Menu The bottom four options were not selectable so she decided to tackle the list from top to bottom. Clicking the top option, she received another list to choose from. The options available to her were all of her current aspects. She chose Dazzle and it brought her back to the initial screen. Selecting the next option on her list gave her a simple prompt. Designate the percentage of Dazzle you wish to sacrifice. She selected 1% not wanting to lose any more of her synchronization if things went wrong. Selecting the next option on the list brought up the next prompt. Define the action you wish to take. She got the impression that if she would have sacrificed more of her synchronization, she would have gotten more options and longer delay options. Sacrificing synchronization for her other aspects was going to make it difficult to gain synchronization with enchanting very quickly. She hoped it was like the other aspects and when she increased her synchronization the cost would be lowered. Selecting the next option on her enchanting list, she got a prompt of how much mana this would cost. Charge enchant for 500 mana? Y/N? Selecting yes did not immediately drain her of mana. When she clicked on the final option to finalize the enchant, she felt a huge drop in her mana causing her to get light-headed. Pulling up her status sheet, she verified that she was missing the correct amount of mana. She had also dropped a percentage of synchronization from her Dazzle aspect. Picking her newly enchanted item up caused an unexpected menu to pop up. Mainly unexpected because she was not using her enchant skill this time, she was just picking it up like a normal person would look at it. Activate Dazzle with a delay of 5 seconds? Y/N? It looked like she was able to create enchants for people without an enchanting skill to use. She couldn¡¯t wait to experiment with this! Chapter 22 - Freedom Enchanting was going to take a long time to practice to raise its synchronization. She was able to get a refund on half of the synchronization sacrifice if she put at least 2% into the enchant. If she put 3% she would only get 1% back. She made sure to start using even numbers when practicing. The refund on mana was even worse, she was only able to get a quarter of the mana investment she put into an enchant upon salvage. That was if she didn¡¯t test the enchant. If it was tested, then there was no mana left to refund her. The biggest problem with enchanting was how much mana it took. She could only do very simple enchants or it would cost more mana than she had. It took her twelve hours to regain all of her mana from zero. As she gained wisdom over the years, the time it took to regen her mana pool had never changed. She needed a willing or unwilling subject to practice Hypnotize or Fear so she was not able to make any progress with those aspects. She was a little disappointed with Water Manipulation. If she was using mostly pure water, then she was able to move it around at will with only a slight amount of drain on her mana. As soon as she tried to move things with liquid in them, she hit her first roadblock. Her runny porridge in the morning contained water but moving it took quite a bit more concentration and a lot more mana. Separating the water out of the porridge was relatively simple but moving impure water saw her mana dropping too quickly to do very much of it. Once she was able to raise the synchronization of this skill, she felt she could probably control the blood in someone¡¯s body. It may be useful for self-defense if she was ever held against her will or needed to disable an attacker. She decided to allow her rash to completely clear up a week after starting her quarantine. Leaving the room was not something she did very often during the day because she never knew when one of the doctors would show up to check on her. The only time she felt safe to leave was at night. As soon as she drained her mana for the night, she would begin exploring lower into the town they had found. The below floors got larger the lower she descended into the pyramid. She was able to finally count the floors in this section. There were a total of ten floors that made up a total of one-eighth of the entire pyramid. The top floor was devoted to classrooms and smaller rooms attached to those rooms for living. The following five floors were all larger housing units with themed artwork on the walls outside of the dwellings. The ninth through the sixth floor each shared themes of two aspects on every floor. The ninth-floor artwork was devoted to Decoy and Shadow Blade. Floor eight was for Disguise Self and Fear. When she made it down to the fifth floor, the entire floor was devoted to Contracts. She could not find any hidden doors leading to classrooms or secret research areas in any of the dwellings she inspected. Based on the artwork she saw, they valued contracts heavily in their society. Once she made it to the fourth floor, she found several official-looking offices. There were ten sections on this floor. One for each aspect and the last area looked to be a place to gather for each aspect. There was a very large and ornate office in the back of this section that could have possibly have been where the head of Illusion was located. This is where she came across the first door she was unable to open. Only Masters of Illusion may enter here. She made a note to come back after she received the Contracts aspect. Though mastery could also mean overall synchronization. Regardless, she wanted to see what was so special behind that door. Making her way down to the third floor, the entire area was devoted to training. There were fight circles and target dummies set up throughout the floor. A large track with lanes marked on them looped around the entire floor. There was even an area set up as a fake forest. This training area was set up to train skills as well as the illusion aspects. On the second floor, there was a central area set up as a market. Stalls lined the central area that looked like a temporary merchant could rent to sell their wares. On the outer edges of the area, permanent storefronts were brightly painted advertising their wares. She giggled at one of the signs that said ¡°Voted best service!¡± All she could think of was ¡®voted by whom?¡¯ She really missed shopping. While the system seemed to work that the dominion was currently using, she had no doubts that many freedoms were given up to create this system where nobody goes hungry or homeless. It was very much a system of be productive or be punished and the punishments had never been explained to her satisfaction. It made sense that nobody wanted to explain the details of what punishment means to a child. It was bad enough that the adults did all they could to be productive. The final floor was part of the underground network that she had found while she was in the barracks. It was interesting because it was only accessible through a secret door on the fourth floor near the Illusion Master¡¯s office. That made her think that the main building was geared more towards the general public while the medium and smaller buildings outside were for authorized personnel only. There must be a more publicly accessible door somewhere on the tenth floor that nobody had located yet to get into the town area.
It had been a week since she landed herself in the slammer¡­ quarantine. Doctor Amelia had come by to give her a check-up the day before and had commented on the fact that the rash had almost cleared up. She had said if it cleared up completely, she would only need to stay in isolation for four days after that. As much as Violet enjoyed all of the unsupervised time to go exploring at night, she missed human interaction quite a bit. She couldn¡¯t wait to tell Sky about her new aspects and which magic she ended up with. He was still very firm on not wanting to have magic. The unknown was just too scary for him to think about. She was a little upset that to practice enchanting, she had to lose synchronization with her other skills as well as the majority of her mana. It was her hope that like the other aspects, as she gained more synchronization she would be able to do things more economically.
Level The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. 32
Age 7
Experience (49600/52800)
Health 250/250
Mana 740/740
Stat Points 155
Skill Points 6
Strength 18
Constitution 25
Dexterity 20
Intelligence 77
Wisdom 74
[Traits] [Skills] [Magic]
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 55%
95% Cloaking
Illusion 86% Dazzle
Illusion 95% Decoy
Illusion 92% Disguise Self
Illusion 10% Enchant
Illusion 10% Fear
Illusion 1% Hypnotize
Illusion 98% Shadow Blade
Water 1%
Water 8% Water Manipulation
One of the last things she wanted to accomplish before she got out of quarantine was adding herself to the water area. Her plan to gain access to the podiums near the central column was to enter the water area through the doorway by her secret room. It would be a lot of walking, but it was unlikely that anyone would be standing directly next to the water door at night and she could use Cloaking to make her way invisibly to the podium. She decided she was a little too free with privileges for the illusion area. At the time it was only a small group of people she initially gave access to. In hindsight, she should have added each person individually instead of making it a free for all for everyone in existence to gain access. For the water area, she only gave herself and Sky access to opening the doors in that section. It was reckless to keep trusting Sky so much but he had ample opportunity to tell on her and had still kept her secret. She decided not to trust Jade at all with this section. The girl had been acting strangely not too long before Violet had quarantined herself. It just was not worth the risk to her. Doctor Amelia was true to her word, Violet was set free from isolation on the fourth day after her rash had disappeared. She also commented on how lucky Violet was to not have any sores open up and start oozing or bleeding. Violet made sure to lay it on thick on how she was very careful not to scratch and that the cream helped her a lot.
When she arrived back in the area with Sky and Jade, she sensed something was wrong. Sky was frowning and Jade had a look of guilt on her face. When Violet opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, Sky shook his head and said ¡°not now.¡± Looking at their three sets of parents gave her the answer she was dreading. They all had a look on their face that communicated to her that she would be answering some questions when they were alone. It was at least good news that they didn¡¯t want to talk in front of other people. They were not given any breaks or allowed out of an adult¡¯s line of sight at any time while they were working. The entire time Violet was working, she was getting more anxious. Did they find out about her magic? Was it just Jade who told on her or did she get Sky to talk as well? It was going to be bad no matter which one told on her but she hoped Sky kept her magic a secret. When it came time for dinner, the adults were all acting normal and talking about work-related discoveries. To an outsider, nothing was wrong and everyone was going on with their lives like normal. The pointed looks the adults were giving her told her otherwise. She was expecting to be able to come out of quarantine and play up how lonely it was and how boring it was to be locked in a room alone with nothing to do. It occurred to her that she never actually asked for anything to keep her mind occupied. She wondered where they planned to have their interrogation. The last she had known, they shared their sleeping area with quite a few other people. After everyone in their group had finished eating, they all followed Corrin in a different direction than where their sleeping arrangements were. Sky whispered to her as they walked, ¡°after you got sick, they moved everybody.¡± They ended up in a section that Violet had not had the chance to explore yet. The room they all piled into was still a classroom, but it was smaller than the classrooms she had been used to seeing. This room was large enough to house two beds with a two-foot walkway between them. As soon as the door closed, the adults all turned to Violet. It was her father who finally said something. ¡°You have some explaining to do young lady.¡± Chapter 23 - Explaining At this point, it was a safe bet that Jade had spilled the beans about pretty much everything she knew. Looking around the room, she located a secret door and walked toward it. ¡°Well, if we are going to have this discussion, let¡¯s get a little more space.¡± She opened the door and walked through it hoping to find a living area on the other side. It was a very common occurrence so she was not too worried about that. Sky and Jade followed after her right away but when she turned around to check on the adults, there was a mixture of disbelief and shock on their faces. It appears they did not fully believe whatever Jade had told them. After the door had closed and she re-opened it, Jade whispered ¡°I didn¡¯t tell them about this, I just told them you know how to read the runes.¡± The adults immediately started to nerd out. She was inundated with questions and they were all trying to talk over each other. ¡°How did you do that?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us?¡± ¡°Where does this lead?¡± ¡°What is this place?¡± ¡°How long have you known about this?¡± ¡°Why doesn¡¯t the door work for me?¡± Violet was in a state of shock. If only she had a way to go back in time and assess the situation properly before sticking her foot in her mouth. She had worked it up so much in her head that she was on edge and her thoughts had gone haywire. Geez, she was close to thirty-four years old mentally and she still jumped to the wrong conclusions with little to go off of. Well, she guessed it was time to spill the beans on herself it would seem. She decided to share as little as possible about the hows and the whys and drown them in all of the fun things they had found in this section. ¡°I picked up the skill called Language - Runic a little while ago. As soon as I got that on my skill sheet, I was able to read a little bit. The more I was exposed to the symbols of this language, the higher the skill level got. I¡¯m sorry! I didn¡¯t want them to take me away for being too smart.¡± At this point, Violet had planned on turning on fake tears and using her skill levels in Acting. In reality, she was very passionate about this subject already so the tears came naturally. Her mother was the person who spoke next. ¡°Honey, we would never willingly let them take you away from us. The other adults and I have kept this from you but we are only a few months away from being punished. We have been studying these ruins for years and gaining very little progress in learning the language. It is likely they would have sent us away sooner if we had not found a way to open the door in this section.¡± This news was shocking and unwelcome to Violet. She was being selfish and keeping secrets about certain things that could save her family from punishment. It did not mean she was going to suddenly tell them about her magic but she was a lot more open to trying to teach them the local language. ¡°What does punishment mean?¡± She still to this day had never gotten a straight answer from any adult on what it meant. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Nothing you should have to worry about for a long time.¡± Is the answer that Nina responded with. After a little bit of discussion, it was decided that Violet would wait an hour after bedtime and then collect the others and start giving lessons on the language. She had to demonstrate multiple times how she opened the door before they would accept that the door would not open for them. The adults were mixed on what to do about the area behind the hidden door. Violet¡¯s parents argued to keep it a secret because it could cause problems when it came out that Violet was the only one able to open the door. Jade¡¯s parents wanted to go straight to Noble Tennyson and barter better working and living conditions. They were tired of being away from civilization and wanted to return to the capital. There was plenty of portable material that they could bring with them to study from the comforts of a real city. Sky¡¯s parents were still undecided on what they wanted to do. The discovery of this extra area would be a huge boon to their research camp. On the other hand, it endangered Violet if she was the only one who could open the door. Corrin was also still a little upset at how he was treated after they had their initial find. It had been quite a while since he was demoted and set aside but he could hold a grudge for a long time. His request for reassignment closer to his daughter was not even responded to. Poor Sky didn¡¯t remember very much of his sister. With the adults not agreeing on a course of action, it was decided to wait and see what the reaction to one of them learning the language would be. They would decide based on how they were treated. Violet would have preferred not to tell anyone at all about anything but unfortunately, that ship had already sailed for her. She was also upset that she was not included in the discussion of what they were going to do.
The next morning, Ardon and Judy were missing from the breakfast gathering. Jade was present but Violet had a sinking feeling in her gut. ¡°Good morning Jade. Where are your parents?¡± she asked. ¡°Not sure, they were missing when I woke up this morning. They probably just wanted to get an early start to the day.¡± It didn¡¯t even sound like Jade believed what she said. Ardon and Judy kept the same schedule as everyone else on this shift and never missed joining everyone for breakfast. The only reasons that Violet could think of for them to be missing were not good ones when it came to her wellbeing. ¡°Violet, I want you to stick close to us today. We need to be with you if something happens.¡± Her father said to her as they were walking to their work area. She nodded and followed along in a half-daze. Several hours went by and nothing seemed to be happening. Judy and Ardon were still missing, but so far no guards had shown up to arrest her or anything else her mind had conjured up for the unknown. She was working side by side with her mother today. They would look at an enchanted cube and she would tell her mother what it said. It wasn¡¯t a whole lot, but she felt it was helpful. Her mother brought out a copy of the tablets they were originally trying to decode for her to translate. When Violet saw it again she started to laugh earning a stern look from her mother. The tablet was a list of rules for the section. Fire section rules: Her mother chuckled a little at what had been written on a tablet she had spent so long trying to decipher. ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll study this and see if I can get the language skill.¡± Her father gave them a funny look from across the room trying to find out what could cause them to start giggling all of a sudden. It was nearing lunchtime when a messenger from the noble¡¯s regime came to summon Violet. The servant who came for her was so out of breath he must have run the entire way there. ¡°His esteemed self Noble Tennyson requests an audience with Violet Tidwell an hour before dinner.¡± ¡°Violet is a minor, as her parent, I will make sure she makes it there on time.¡± Her father was quick to reply. The servant nodded his head and left. As soon as the servant was out of sight, her mother went to the head researcher where they were working and let him know that the three of them were summoned to the noble and they needed to leave to make themselves presentable. It was early to be leaving but the head researcher was more interested in what he was studying than anything else. He only cared about results and didn¡¯t dare step on the toes of their esteemed noble. Chapter 24 - Escape Last night after everyone had left them alone for the night. ¡°I don''t trust them.¡± Her mother was quick to comment as soon as the others had left. ¡°I don''t either. There isn¡¯t a whole lot we can do right now. I don''t think Corrin and Nina will do anything stupid but you know Ardon and Judy have been looking for a way to get back to a city ever since we got here.¡± Her mother then turned to her and said ¡°Violet, I need to know something for sure. Do you have magic? The night you cut your hand I thought I noticed a symbol on your tummy that night. It looked similar to the mark for illusion magic.¡± It seemed this would be a night of airing secrets for Violet. She was in a bad spot no matter how she answered. Deciding to give her parents a chance, she came clean about her illusion magic. It was like a dam had broken and she told them about all of the times she had snuck out to gain more aspects and the aspects she had earned so far. Her thinking was at this point she had nothing left to lose. If they reacted poorly she would use her magic and run away on her own. ¡°We were worried when we saw the symbol initially. It would have been difficult, but we were ready to take you and run the second someone else noticed it. You somehow found a way to hide your symbol and never showed your magic so the two of us decided to let you keep your secret.¡± Her father interrupted with ¡°Ok enough of this, Violet do you know another way out of this place? We are going to need to sneak out past the guards and there is no way they will let us pass with us carrying large packs filled with supplies.¡± ¡°There is an underground tunnel that connects all of the buildings together. When I unlocked water magic, I gained access to the water areas. I can get us out through one of the water magic barracks.¡± The stunned look on her parent¡¯s faces was priceless. It was her father who was able to speak first saying. ¡°Of course our daughter has two schools of magic. We are going to talk about keeping such dangerous secrets from us after we get out of this. Let¡¯s pack up everything that would not be immediately noticed and place it in the room on the other side of that secret door.¡± After they had finished packing their belongings up, they had all visited the pantry. The pantry was located in another classroom so it was just a matter of finding the correct door. That alone was nerve-wracking. If it had not been for silent doors, they would have been found out several times. Thankfully every wrong door they opened had sleeping people in them and nobody had woken up. The pantry was well stocked with dried meats and oats for porridge. They made sure to pack as much food as they could reasonably carry. It would take them several days just to reach the edge of the barrier and then they would need to start being careful of the local wildlife. Her ability to manipulate water will be very useful if they have difficulties locating water sources. Her father would be a big help when their food eventually ran out. One of his passions for research was plants. He would be able to spot any edible plants they could forage along the way. He said with the abundance of rain this area got, finding edible plants shouldn''t be an issue.
Present time. Arriving back at their assigned sleeping area, the trio quickly packed up what remained of their personal items. With all of their items removed from the room and the beds made, they hoped that someone would look in the room and assume it was unoccupied. ¡°Did you remove our name from the door?¡± her mother asked. ¡°Yes I got it when we came in, I don''t think it will delay them for very long but every extra second will count.¡± Answered her father as he picked up the box he was packing. With a nod, Violet opened the secret door in their room. They all took one last moment to make sure the room was spotless and then turned to make their way out. As the door closed on their living area for the last time, Violet was almost excited about where their journey would end up. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. The underground passageways in the water area were a mirror image of the illusion passageways. When they made it to the crafting area beneath the medium-sized building, there were still some supplies left at the crafting station. While it was very tempting to explore the area, time was of the essence. They needed to be long gone before their appointment with the noble came up. When they made it to the armory underneath the barracks, her father had them stop. ¡°We are going to need to defend ourselves and hunt. I know it will be heavy, but you two should put on some of the lightweight armor. It will hold up better than your dresses out in the wild.¡± Finding armor to fit Violet was comical. Her seven-year-old body was far too small to wear armor made for an adult. In the end, one of the sleeveless vests was all Violet could wear. It was long enough to be a dress on her. Shoes were going to be an issue for her as well. They ended up packing a few extra vests so her mother could sew her a pair of pants and shoes. The armor in this area was all dyed a deep blue that was very close to being black. Her father decided on a chainmail shirt that was covered with leather to muffle the noise. She needed to inspect his armor later to see if it was enchanted to remain quiet or if it was just an effect of having something on top of it. He also picked up a sword, a few daggers, and a bow with a quiver of arrows. Her mother was dressed in lightweight leather armor. It was easy to see her mother had not worn pants often in her life by the way she was walking around in it. She picked up a sheath for each leg filled with three throwing daggers each as her weapon of choice. The knives were her father¡¯s idea, he wanted her to stay away from danger whenever possible. Violet was also given a dagger that was attached to the makeshift belt they cobbled together for her. They were done in the armory no longer than ten minutes after they got there. Time was not on their side and they needed to keep moving. It was nearing lunchtime when the servant had given them her summons. She estimated they had burned about an hour packing up and walking quickly to the barracks. They had about three hours left before they would be missed by the noble but if anyone else noticed them missing, the alarm could be rung early. The barracks were all separated by color and arranged in rainbow order. The noble was located in one of the middle illusion barracks. There were four barracks per color. The smaller buildings were arranged in the order of black, white, purple followed by blue. They made sure to leave from the furthest water barracks to exit twelve buildings away from the majority of activity. Their plan was to sprint to the treeline as fast as possible when they left the barracks. It was decided that her father would carry her while her mother held her hand so she could use Cloaking on their group. She was not far from being 100% synchronized with Cloaking so she estimated they had at least thirty minutes of invisibility. It was hard for her to calculate but she knew it cost a lot more mana to cloak other people with her. Being carried helped her focus on keeping everyone covered. Her parents were also able to run faster than she could with their unlocked stats. Unfortunately with their heavy bags, their escape was anything but quiet. They were far enough from the majority of people for them not to hear anything. A guard near the outer edge of the water barracks was alerted by the noise they were making. When her father noticed the guard, he angled their group directly toward him. The guard was raising his whistle to his lips when a deep line of red crossed his neck. She was still able to keep the cloaking going during their run. The guard could hear them but he could not see them and his hesitation cost him. Her father left the guard where he fell not far from the treeline and they kept running. They ran around the inner edge of the treeline away from the guard until they entered the trees in the direction they needed to go. She hoped entering the trees away from where the guard was slain will throw off any tracking efforts. Her mana gave out and they lost their invisibility when they had made it past the second tree inside the treeline. When they made it about half a mile into the treeline they stopped behind a large tree for a breather. ¡°I had to do it. He was going to alert everyone.¡± was what her father kept repeating to her mother. They both hugged him and her mother told him it would be ok. Her father was a strong and brave man but this was likely the first time he had ever been forced to take a life. It was her mother who spoke up a few minutes later. ¡°We need to keep moving. We don''t know if they have any trackers with them. One of the guards may have that skill.¡± Two hours later, they were able to barely make out the sound of a whistle going off. It was sooner than they expected so it was likely because the guard¡¯s body had been found. The people who found the body didn¡¯t know whom they were looking for yet. They would likely look at other guards first since a sword was used for the kill and normal people were not allowed to carry weapons. When the night began to fall, it got difficult to navigate the forest terrain. They were all stumbling over roots and branches. Violet didn¡¯t have any spells to create light other than Dazzle and she didn¡¯t think a bright flash of light was a good idea to use. There weren¡¯t any lights following behind them but they wanted to get as far as possible before the search was started. When night had well and truly fallen, she ended up accidentally finding where they would rest while they waited for the sun. The ground beneath her feet caved in as soon as she put weight on it. Her father retrieved an enchanted item from his bag. When he activated the enchant, it glowed softly. The item he was using was not one of the beginner items they had been sorting and organizing all this time. When he shined the light down to her, it revealed a circular hollowed-out area roughly six feet in diameter and seven feet tall. Only a small portion of the ceiling had caved in on the edge where she had fallen in. It was the most ideal shelter they were going to be able to find without light. Her parents made their way into the underground cavity with her and they were all asleep shortly after. Chapter 25 - Running Violet was gently nudged awake early the next morning. The sun had not even reached the horizon when they started on their trek. There were no searchers that could be heard anywhere behind them. She was not sure if that was a good thing or not. A skilled tracker wouldn''t make any noise while he followed their trail. Her mother handed out strips of dried meat and her father was picking up and handing out mushrooms and edible plants as they walked to supplement their meal. They had not stopped for dinner last night and fell asleep before anyone could think of grabbing a snack before bed. She was thankful they were able to raid the pantry before they left the compound. With the travel rations they brought with them and the foraging they would do along the way, she estimated they had enough food to last them quite a while if they were careful with it. They each carried a canteen for water in their packs. To save on weight, they were relying on Violet¡¯s ability to manipulate the water out of the humidity in the area until they reached a water source. They were heading directly towards a lake that was supposed to be located not too far from the barrier. Once they reached the lake, they would follow along the shore until they reached the river and follow it east. Her mother had studied a map of the area they had found inside the ruins. They were going off of very old information, but the rivers were unlikely to have changed very much. Based on what her parents learned during their school days, there were two countries to the east of the ancient ruins they were at. Information about other countries was strictly controlled and other countries were made to look inferior or evil by those in charge of the Chromatic Dominion. Both options sounded like horrible places to run to but Violet thought that may be propaganda more than truth. The first country was located northeast of their location was called Astresh. They worshiped several deities. There was a god for everything from the sun and moon to birth and death. They were referred to as unusually short and misshapen people due to believing in false gods. Violet wondered how much of that information was true. It was likely true they were a Theocracy ruled by divine guidance. What interested her was the possibility of there being dwarves, gnomes, or halflings in this world. Kasmaya was the other country located southeast of their location. They were supposedly so backward that they allowed a woman to rule the country as a Queen. This queen¡¯s judgment was so flawed that she allowed all of the impure races into her queendom. Her parents were taught that just contact with impure races could cause you to become misshapen yourself. In Violet¡¯s mind, this queendom seemed to be more advanced than either of the countries she knew about so far. The river that they would be following east would eventually split. One fork would go north and the other would go south. They would need to decide on where to go once they reached that fork. She hoped the river would be slow enough for them to be able to build a raft and travel by water once they reached it. She would have ample opportunity to practice her Water Manipulation aspect on this trip. They walked at a brisk pace through the evergreen trees the entire day. Her father needed to carry her bag for her for Violet to keep up near the end of the day. The only time they stopped was to relieve themselves and to have short rests here and there when Violet was falling behind. When they did not hear or see any signs of pursuit throughout the day, it was decided they would stop for the night when the sun was just below the horizon. They did not want to stumble around in the dark if they didn¡¯t have to. Remaining vigilant, they did not light a fire for their last meal of the day. ¡°We should reach the barrier tomorrow morning. Once we cross the barrier, you and I will need to sleep in shifts. I don''t believe there are any magical beasts near the barrier but as we go further east, the chance of entering a mana-rich area increases. The roads we came in on were all built away from mana-rich areas to avoid the chances of magical beasts molesting the travelers on it.¡± Her father explained. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Violet would not be expected at the age of seven to sleep in a shift with the adults. She was both happy about this and upset to not be treated as an adult. It was irrational of her, she was a child and she had not unlocked her extra stat points yet. The adults had likely slowed down their speed by the need to keep a pace she could keep. Their next day did not start well. It started to rain in the early hours of the morning. While their bags were oiled to keep water off of them, her clothing was not. By the time the sun began to rise, the rain had gone from a drizzle to a full-blown downpour. The only positive thing her mother could say about the rain was that it would hinder any tracking efforts that were made to find them. Violet was wearing a leather armor vest on top of her dress. The armor fit her very loosely which allowed the water to soak her dress. She was able to pull the water out of her dress, but with the rain continuing to fall, it was a losing battle. They started on their way as soon as there was enough light to see by. The blanket they were using was soaked with water so it was left outside of her mother¡¯s bag and carried to avoid getting their food wet. When it stopped raining, she would pull the water out of it so it could be packed again. The sun chased away the rain clouds as it climbed into the sky. She was thankful that the weather in this area stayed between 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit. It was easier to be wet when you weren¡¯t cold on top of it. When the majority of the rain had stopped coming down, they took a quick break so Violet could remove the water from the blanket and their clothing. The leather did not hold very much water but it would get damaged if it was left wet too long. They could see the shimmer of the barrier in the distance after two hours of walking. Seeing the barrier made her think of Sky and Jade. They were with her for her entire life and she would miss them. Well maybe she wouldn''t miss Jade after her betrayal but she would miss Sky. He was like a brother to her. She hoped he was left alone after she was found missing with her parents. Fifteen minutes after they spotted the barrier, they were approaching it. Her father stopped them before exiting so he could scout the area from the inside where they would emerge. He wanted to make sure there weren¡¯t any surprises he could see before they left. While they were waiting on her father to come back, Violet reached her hand out to see what the barrier would feel like. This caused a warning menu to pop up. WARNING! You are the only administrator currently assigned to this area. Select which option you wish to enact. She went over the choices in her mind. She couldn¡¯t assign a new administrator even if she wanted to because she was the only one she knew of with magic in the area. Leaving the privileges as they were was completely out of the picture. She would have already rejected everyone¡¯s privileges if she could have gotten to the central column unnoticed. When she had looked the night before they left, there were quite a few people awake in that room working on a large project. That left her the two most likely options as well as a bloodthirsty option. While it would be easy to blacklist the people who caused her to be in this situation, they weren¡¯t worth having on her conscience. They did not physically harm her or anyone she cared about and while it could have potentially turned into a very bad situation for her and her parents, they escaped that fate. Of the two choices she had left, she felt giving people a week to evacuate was far too long. They would have time to remove everything that wasn¡¯t nailed down and she didn¡¯t feel like the nobles deserved to have that leisure. She ultimately chose to evacuate everyone with non-lethal force. That option was the one most likely to cause consequences for Ardon and Judy and she hoped they would be held accountable. She waited until her father returned from his scouting to select her choice. ¡°The barrier just gave me an option to evacuate the buildings and revoke privileges of everyone left. I am about to select that option but I wanted to let you know what I was doing and see if you had any reason not to do this.¡± ¡°I wish you could have done that when we were running away that first night. We would have been lost in the confusion.¡± her mother said in response. After a nod from her father to go ahead, she clicked the option. They all jumped when the alarm sounded because it could be heard clearly from the edge of the barrier where they were. She would not be surprised if the people they left behind all started walking away from the ruins after being ejected just to get away from the noise. Caravans were spaced so the ruins got fresh supplies every week. If people were unable to salvage food when they were ejected, they would only be without for two days if the caravan arrived on schedule. She wished she could be a fly on the wall to see what was happening back at the ruins. Chapter 26 - Interlude - Ardon It was nights like tonight that Ardon wished he did not have certain knowledge. If all that Violet had was knowledge of the ancient language, they could have gained the language skill from her and claimed to learn it on their own. Judy had long since made her dislike of our assignment known. She wanted to live in a city once again and she was sick and tired of looking at these stone walls. ¡°This is our big chance!¡± Judy said after the door to their living area had closed. ¡°All we have to do is make a deal with the noble for this knowledge and he will let us go back to a city.¡± ¡°That could just as easily blow up in our face. What if he takes our information and gives us nothing in return? What happens to Violet when we tell him this information? I would fight to keep Jade away from being a noble¡¯s science experiment and I don''t see Zarek acting any differently.¡± ¡°Oh, that noble isn¡¯t going to do anything to Violet. He needs her to keep the other nobles off his back. The worst he would do is hold Zarek and Lyra hostage and threaten punishment.¡± ¡°Mommy don''t let them hurt Violet! She¡¯s my friend.¡± Jade spoke up from where she was pretending to be asleep. ¡°Go to sleep Jade. The grownups are talking.¡± Ardon motioned toward the door where they could continue their conversation out of earshot of their daughter. ¡°Do you really think the noble will let us leave?¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Of course he will, people who inform the authorities of important information are always rewarded for the information if it turns out to be true and useful. The fact that she has the skill for the ancient language would have been enough to get us a boon. Add on to that her ability to open the doors to that huge area and we can ask for anything we want within reason.¡± The next morning before breakfast they left Jade in the room and made their way out of the central structure to seek an audience with the noble. When they arrived, a servant informed him that the noble was still sleeping and they would have to wait until he feels like seeing them. It took nearly all morning for them to be granted an audience with him. Waiting so long gave Ardon time to have second and even third thoughts about the information they were about to give the noble about their friends. When they were called back to see the noble, he was on a raised platform with a desk he was seated behind. There were no other chairs in the room except for the one the noble was seated on. ¡°I¡¯ve been informed that you have some information that I would find valuable.¡± Ardon stammered out ¡°Ye yes my Lord.¡± He cleared his throat a few times and then began his tale. ¡°A few days ago, my daughter informed me that Violet Tidwell could read the ancient language and was keeping it a secret. Once Violet was released from quarantine yesterday, we that is¡± he cleared his throat again. ¡°The Dumonts, Judy and I, and the Tidwells confronted her about this knowledge. Before we could even start asking questions, she opened a secret door in the wall.¡± Ardon¡¯s hands were shaking quite badly at this point. ¡°So your big news is that she found a door you didn¡¯t know about and she learned a language you have spent years studying. I will make sure she begins giving lessons on the language to a large group of people. You are dismissed.¡± Judy spoke up at that point. ¡°My Lord, while she did find a door we did not know about, nobody else but the child could open that door. We did not spend much time in the new area, but it was quite large spanning multiple floors with quite a few living areas. Violet demonstrated how she was the only one who was able to open the secret doors but we were able to open the normal doors once inside. We made sure to come directly here this morning to report this.¡± ¡°Have you noticed any magic symbols on this child?¡± ¡°No sir, she is just a normal child. I used to help change her diapers when she was younger and never noticed a magic mark on her.¡± Judy was quick to reply. ¡°Very well, stick around while I have the child summoned here. If your claims are true I will grant you a boon.¡± Chapter 27 - Interlude - Noble Tennyson Pointing at random servants he said, ¡°You, go inform Violet Tidwell to report to me an hour before dinner. You, go get me the head researcher and his top linguist. You, get me background information on the Tidwell family.¡± After the servants left at a run to follow his orders, he sat back in his chair to think. ¡®If what they claim is true, this will get the other nobles off my back about having a lack of progress. If I can show that we have unlocked the language it will go quite a ways to smoothing over some ruffled feathers. I wish I had not boasted that I would have results within a year if I was able to stay in the barrier before coming here.¡¯ It was over an hour before the head researcher and his linguist presented themselves. That meeting was as unproductive as expected. To their knowledge nobody had gained the skill for the language everything was written in. They tried to explain to him that dead languages could take several decades to translate. When they were asked about a child who had gained the skill the two men started laughing saying that it was unlikely to be true and someone was wasting his time. When the servant with the information he requested about the Tidwell family returned, he was beginning to get annoyed. Zarek and Lyra Tidwell were exemplary citizens with no marks on their records for being reported for any type of infraction. Their child was inspected upon birth and later during the birth ceremony and found to not have any marks of magic. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡®Great I have to deal with feuds now it would seem. There is no way an unmagical child would be able to open ¡°secret¡± doors. It is likely just another case of people being stuck together for far too long indoors.¡¯ In the middle of his musings, one of the guards rushed into his room in a state of panic. ¡°My Lord! There has been a murder!¡± ¡°Slow down, start from the beginning and tell me what happened.¡± He looked at one of the servants on the wall and said ¡°See to it that my appointments are canceled for the rest of the day.¡± ¡°Sir, Wilks and I were making our rounds and we found the body of Jenner laying in the tall grass. Initially, we thought he was just taking a nap but when we went to nudge him awake, we noticed that his throat had been slashed with a sharp object. We made sure not to touch his body once we saw that. Wilks is guarding the body and I ran back here to inform you.¡± ¡°Round up all of the guard and people cleared to carry a weapon. Do we have any trackers with us?¡± ¡°No sir, Jenner was the only one with a tracking skill that I know of. I will inquire to make sure that is still the case.¡± ¡°I want all weapons accounted for and inspected for blood. I want this person caught immediately. Dismissed!¡± As the guard left, he turned to the head servant and asked ¡°Have you heard anything about the caravan with the senior nobles that we were expecting?¡± ¡°No Sir, they were due to arrive sometime this week but we were never given a specific date.¡± ¡°I want to be informed the second any caravan is spotted.¡± Chapter 28 - Interlude - Jade & Sky Jade was starting to panic. Her parents had been gone all day and Violet¡¯s family were summoned to the noble just before Lunch. She couldn¡¯t stop pacing or talking to anyone who would listen to her. After a while she started talking at people who she knew were ignoring her. Her thoughts kept racing around thinking about what might happen to her parents or what might happen to Violet. If she was talking then she didn¡¯t have to think so much. Sky had abandoned her the second Violet was summoned to the noble. He said some pretty mean and hurtful things to her. Those things may have been true but she didn¡¯t want to hear them. It was all her fault this had happened but she wanted to help her parents. She had heard them talking one night about how they were going to be punished if progress wasn¡¯t made soon. She thought them learning the language from Violet would be enough to show progress. It wasn¡¯t her fault Violet let loose a bigger secret! Maybe she should have warned Violet but it¡¯s not like she could have done that very easily. She was in quarantine with that horrible rash that Amy had gotten not too long ago. Her parents didn¡¯t return until dinner time but Violet and her parents weren¡¯t with them. After running up and giving each of them a hug she asked ¡°Where is Violet?¡± Both of her parents looked guilty and it took a little bit before her mother replied ¡°She was summoned to see the noble sweetie. I¡¯m sure everything will be ok and you will see her tomorrow.¡± Dinner was a quiet affair that night. Sky and his parents sat at a different table and all three of them were giving her parents dirty looks. After a while of them sitting in silence, she finally got the courage up to ask. ¡°Was it worth it?¡± ¡°Those who inform are always rewarded. It may seem like a betrayal but they should have come forth with this information on their own. We were just doing our duty. Hopefully, we will be back in a city soon and you can make new friends.¡±
Sky He woke up to the sound of his mom and dad whispering to each other. They liked to talk about things he shouldn''t hear while he was sleeping so he got in the habit of not moving when he woke in the morning to not alert them. This morning it was no surprise that they were whispering about Violet and her family. It was nothing he didn¡¯t already know, Ardon and Judy had tattled on Violet. ¡®Why wouldn''t she listen to me? I told her not to trust Jade with anything and it would get her in trouble. Jade can¡¯t keep secrets, her mouth runs before her brain can catch up. At least the secret about her magic isn¡¯t out.¡¯ Nothing unusual happened at breakfast that day. It was a little odd for him to be sitting at another table but he didn¡¯t want to sit with those who would inform the noble on you. His parents shared the same opinion he did on the matter because he didn¡¯t even have to urge them to sit elsewhere last night or this morning. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. It was nearing lunchtime when a large delegation of fancied up nobles came to inspect the work areas. He heard the adults whispering that these nobles were extremely important. When the delegation made their way around to his work area, his mother made sure to be by his side the whole time. The odd thing was, it seemed like they were just going through the motions of inspecting. They were all talking about some guard who was found murdered in the woods. From what he overheard, when they arrived in the late morning today they sent one of the trackers that came with them off after the assailant. It was a mystery because no weapons or guards were unaccounted for. There was talk about doing a full personnel check later today to see if anyone was missing. Sky couldn¡¯t imagine them stopping work just to count heads but nobles were nobles and they would do as they pleased. He was right about them not stopping work to count heads it turned out. They had no problem stopping dinner to count heads though. Everyone was to stand in front of their living area while servants marked a tally sheet of each area. He was sad when they walked by Violet¡¯s door and her family¡¯s name was missing. It just made him even more upset with Jade. If she would have kept quiet none of this would have happened. It wasn¡¯t until the next morning that someone came to his parents asking about the whereabouts of Violet and her family. That confused him quite a bit because everyone knew that the noble took them. People disappeared after seeing the noble all the time. Just as he was about to ask about Violet, an alarm started going off. It was an excruciatingly loud alarm. All he could do was hold his ears and hope the noise would stop. After a few seconds, his dad picked him up and they all ran toward the exit leading outside. As his father ran with him, he was able to look behind them and see that every door was open with a magical barrier stopping anyone who tried to enter. It looked like the barrier was herding everyone outside of the building. He saw a few people trying to remain in the rooms they were in but the barrier was slowly pushing them out of the room. He was thankful that no barriers popped up to block their path out of the building. The only thing he could describe the scene as when they made it outside was chaos. Quite a few people were still making their way out of the main building some were carrying children while others were carrying food or whatever they were working on when the alarm sounded. It was impossible to hear anything that was being said unless it was spoken in your ear and even then it was hard to make out. It was amusing seeing the fancied up nobles in a state of disarray. He could even see that their Noble Tennyson had his perfect hair standing at odd angles. He wished Violet was here to laugh about that with him. They all started to walk toward the caravan that the nobles had come in on. A few amberclaws were missing from the caravan. It looked like they had broken the bindings holding them to the wagons and ran for it when the alarm started going off. He could see one of the doctors attending to one of the drivers who was laying on the ground. It looked like he got swiped with a claw by the amount of blood on the ground. In one of the wagons that were already mostly loaded with people, he spotted Jade with her parents. It was odd because her parents had chains on their arms. As soon as their wagon was loaded up, the amberclaw was released and it took off running down the road toward the edge of the barrier. His father led them to another wagon that had just started to fill up. Everyone was pushing and shoving to get on the wagon. The amberclaw attached to the wagon they were on had a hole dug in front of it trying to gain enough traction to run away. The stakes that were keeping them in place kept wobbling every time it tried to charge. On the next pull, the stakes broke free from the ground and they were on their way regardless of if they were ready or not. Several people fell off the back of the wagon when the stakes broke and they quickly started moving. Looking back at the ruins getting smaller the further he got away from them, he hoped that Violet was ok. Knowing her, she probably caused the alarm to go off in the first place he chuckled to himself. Chapter 29 - Tracker Problems When the alarm started to go off, they could see a flock of birds take off from trees outside of the barrier. It was so nice to see animals once again. As soon as she stepped on the other side of the barrier, it felt like she had lost something. Her magic responded to her without any issues when she tested it. After a few more tests, she concluded that it was just the feeling of the barrier she was missing. It had been with her for so long that she hadn¡¯t even noticed it was there anymore. The trees outside of the barrier were smaller and spaced further apart. They were still close enough to create a canopy above their heads, but there were several places where the sun shone through. The ground was muddy and had quite a few puddles that they were forced to walk around. Her father told them to avoid stepping in soft patches of ground and walk on roots or stones wherever possible. He was still worried about the possibility of a tracker being sent after them. There was no way they would be able to hide their tracks completely but they could be careful and slow down the trackers. Her mother called him a worrywart because a tracker should have already caught up to them if one had been sent. She still humored him and tried to leave as few tracks as possible. As they moved further away from the barrier, the number of shrubs and bushes began to multiply. They had to walk quite a ways north or south to get around berry and bramble patches. She was sad to see that the berry bushes did not have any fruit on them that was anywhere near edible. It wasn¡¯t until late afternoon before they found an animal trail heading east. If she were on her own, she probably would have ended up walking in circles. When they were inside the barrier, it was almost impossible to see the sky through the canopy. Her father was able to navigate using the way the moss grew on the trees to keep them going in the right direction. While the moss was not as abundant outside of the barrier, it was still there to help them navigate. On Earth, she knew from before that it was a myth that moss only grew on the north side of trees. She was initially very worried when her father started using moss as his guide. When she asked him about it, he told her that the type of moss inside the barrier grew on the side with the most mana concentration. The barrier used an enormous amount of mana to remain active and was constantly shedding ambient mana. The sun was low on the horizon when they started to set up camp for the night. She and her mother went to gather firewood while her father set up a fire ring and unpacked for the night. They felt that starting a fire would not be a bad thing for tonight and it would keep away any curious animals. As they were heading back to camp with firewood in their arms, they noticed a man in red armor lazily following the trail leading to where her father was setting up camp. The system must have been highlighting their path for him because he never went far from the trail they had taken to get there. She worried for her father, he had not noticed the guard yet but the guard had definitely noticed him by his change of body language. The guard was a large man with the muscles of a professional bodybuilder. Her father was strong, but the majority of his stats were allocated to intelligence or wisdom to keep up with his profession as a researcher. Before they had time to warn her father, the guard had sprinted up behind her father and hit him on the head with the pommel of his sword. Her poor father didn¡¯t know what hit him before he was unconscious on the ground. The whole interaction happened so quickly that they didn¡¯t even have time to attempt to help him. With her father knocked out on the ground, the guard began to talk. ¡°I know there are two of you out there. Come out nice and slow and I won¡¯t kill this criminal.¡± Her mother¡¯s response was to whisper to Violet to run as fast as she could. Violet summoned a decoy to walk a little behind her mother and quickly ran behind a tree. Her mother called out ¡°Please don''t hurt him. We are right here.¡± She then stood up so that the guard would be able to see them. From behind a tree, Violet began to summon a shadow blade when the guard started walking casually toward their position. She had summoned her blade many times and used it to cut objects, but she had never used it in combat before. Before she came here, she knew self-defense and had spent some time learning jiu-jitsu so she did not feel completely helpless. Unfortunately, she had the body of a seven-year-old so she would have to make her first shot count because getting a second shot would be extremely unlikely. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. One of the tricks she had learned with her shadow blade was that she could make it invisible. She just needed to summon it before she could do that. With the extra time the guard was giving them, she cloaked herself and moved away from her mother¡¯s position. She put herself in a place that would be right next to the guard when he was about to reach her mother. As soon as the guard saw her mother standing with her decoy, he stopped and started to laugh. She ignored the monologue that he spewed telling them about the criminal camp they would end up at. Time started to fly by along with her mana. She was holding decoy, shadow blade, and cloaking up at the same time. He needed to come close soon or she would run out of mana before she got a chance to do anything. When the guard finally shut up and started walking toward them, she made her move as soon as he was right next to her. She flashed Dazzle as she jumped from a crouching position. The Dazzle must have been aimed improperly because it didn¡¯t affect the guard at all. As she was jumping, her foot was caught on a root causing her to lose concentration on all of her spells. She ended up falling on the guard¡¯s leg and not moving him an inch. As he was bent over laughing at her sorry attempt to attack him, a dagger was stabbed into his throat. Her mother had used Violet¡¯s distraction to use one of her daggers in the most vulnerable area she could reach. When the guard fell to his knees holding his throat, she followed up with a dagger to one of his eyes to finish the job. When Violet looked at her mother, she was looking at her bloody hands in shock. It took Violet jumping up and running to her dad to knock her mother out of her state of shock. They quickly ran to her father¡¯s side. Her mother caught up and passed her on the way with the longer reach of her adult legs. He was still breathing but he was no longer conscious. Her mother quickly took charge ordering Violet to get first aid supplies from their bags and to bring one of the canteens full of water. She helped her mother wrap the wound on his head and then they moved the fire ring to right next to where he fell. They started a fire and moved their camp supplies as well. There was no way either of them could move him without injuring him further. They hoped that he woke up soon and they could move away from the body of the guard. She worried that her father might have a spinal injury or a bad concussion with him still being unconscious. Her mother trusted her to take the first watch that night while she tried to get some sleep. Based on the amount of tossing and turning her mother was doing, she would not get much sleep before the second shift started. While her mother tried to sleep, all Violet could do was replay the events of the evening in her mind over and over. ¡®Why didn¡¯t I try Fear or Hypnotize? Just because they are new and untested doesn¡¯t mean I shouldn''t have tried to use them. Making my shadow blade invisible after I planned on using cloaking was just a stupid waste of mana. Maybe my decoy could have caused a distraction and I could have snuck up closer to the guard. There was no way I could have used water manipulation, I¡¯m not strong enough with that yet and there is no way he would have held still long enough for me to do it.¡¯ She was upset with herself. Her magic was supposed to be her ace in the hole and it ended up just being a distraction. She didn¡¯t even want to think about what might have happened if her mother had not saved the day. Looking at the guard¡¯s body she reflected on just how lucky her mother was. If he had not been partially bent over laughing at Violet, it was unlikely for her mother to have been able to get a very good shot at his neck. There was no doubt he would have been more guarded if he had noticed that her mother was armed. In the end, they had won because the guard was arrogant. If the noble had sent anyone else with this guard they must have turned back when the alarm started going off or they would have already been there. The chances of two adult citizens and a child taking that guard out were next to nothing. Citizens were not trained on weapons unless they were selected to become enforcers. When Violet caught herself nodding off for the fifth time, she gave up and nudged her mother awake to take the next watch. She was initially practicing her magic to keep herself awake but it was not long before she was at half mana and she didn¡¯t think it would be wise to drain her mana completely while they were alone in a forest. Her mother immediately checked on her father when she was woken for the second shift. There was no change in his condition that they could see by firelight. Her mother said he had extra points in Constitution so he should be up and moving soon. She hoped that was true and it wasn¡¯t her mother¡¯s wishful thinking. She woke the next morning to her father speaking to her mother. When she jumped up, her mother was telling him what had happened and letting him know everything was ok. He was extremely confused when he woke up because he had never seen the guard and did not know what had happened to him. After he had calmed down and gotten a meal in his belly, her father seemed to be doing better. He was able to retrieve very little of value from the guard. It appeared that the noble had sent him off without even allowing him rations. They were only able to salvage the canteen he was carrying and some fire-starting sticks from his belt pocket. They did not make it far that next day. It was decided with a vote of two to one that her father needed more time to rest after sustaining such an injury. When they found a sheltered area near a rock pile around noon, they made camp and rested for the remainder of the day. Chapter 30 - The Lake When morning came the next day, her father was up and about acting like he was perfectly fine. She asked her dad how he felt and he informed her that he was at full health and felt fine. It was hard for her to accept that he could be up and normal after not even a full day of receiving a head injury like that. He told her that he was lucky and did not suffer any debuffs from the attack and that his higher Constitution helped him heal fast from simple wounds. The normal practice was for every level you gained, one point went into Constitution to help prolong your life and to make sure you were kept healthy. When she asked him if there was a way for him to share his status screen with someone else he informed her that the only known way was to write it down or speak the numbers. This led to a few other questions she had wondered about. There was no way for someone to force her to show her stats, but there were tests that required certain stats to pass. For example, unless she had a certain amount of strength, she would not be able to lift something. Those people who lied about having extra stat points would be found out easily with those tests. When she asked him if there were any tests to prove someone had more stats than they stated he asked her why would anyone want to hide their stats. After a little more conversation, he did admit that there was a rumor of the ancients having devices to show information about someone¡¯s level and stats. He didn¡¯t know if it was true because he had never seen such an artifact in person before. She had been a little worried about her intelligence and wisdom being so high. For an adult those numbers were normal but she had yet to unlock her stat points. She had asked quite a while ago about when her stat points would be unlocked and the only answer she received was when you are old enough. Asking her father the same question again finally yielded a different result. Most children unlocked their stat points when they were around thirteen years old. It varied from person to person but the earliest recorded person to unlock their stats was at age twelve. Her skill points would also unlock at the same time as her stat points. She was cautioned not to spend her skill points until she needed them to cross a skill barrier. The higher the skill was, the harder it was to cross the skill barrier every ten levels.
It had taken them fifteen days of walking to reach the lake they were looking for. They had managed to avoid any magically charged areas so the majority of the animals in the forest with them were afraid of their fire at night. They had only encountered two stubborn animals on their trek. The first animal they came across was a fox that was protecting her den. When they spotted her, they took a long detour around her den to avoid her. The fox did not charge after them so she likely had babies that she was defending. While Violet called her a fox, the animal was closer to a mix of a fox and a raccoon. She had the long fluffy tail and larger ears of a fox but her paws looked like hands and she had the mask of a raccoon. The second animal looked exactly like a wild boar snout and all. It wildly charged them but it must have been young or addled because it was easy for her father to dodge. The boar was about two feet tall and four feet long. Her father pulled out his sword and used it to slice the side of the boar as it ran by. He was smart enough not to stand in front of it while it was charging him. With Violet and her mother hiding behind trees, her father was able to injure the boar each time it charged him to eventually whittle its health down enough to make a killing blow. It confused her why the boar didn¡¯t just run away but kept coming back for more. Her only regret was they did not have a way to preserve the boar meat. The humid weather made keeping the meat longer than a few days a bad idea. They had eaten very well for those few days though. She was thankful it was humid enough for her to pull water easily from the air. In just a few weeks of practice, she had gotten her synchronization with Water Manipulation up to 22%. She wished she had a cleaning spell to easily get dirt and blood off of their clothing and armor. Using water, she was able to use it to push the dirt and grime off of their clothing but it was not an easy or perfect process. It got the majority of the stains and smells out but not all of them. Being able to practice her magic openly helped her push all of her higher aspects back up to 100%. She had lost some synchronization while practicing her enchanting and now had Disguise Self, Decoy, Cloaking, Shadow Blade, and Dazzle back up to 100%. She got in the habit of using Fear or any animal she spotted because it had a longer range than Hypnotize did. She found that Fear had a large margin of failure. It usually worked well on smaller birds or squirrels, but it only enraged the monkeys she sometimes spotted in the trees. Thankfully the monkeys had only thrown stuff at her and loudly made their displeasure known. The one time she had used the aspect on her mother (after asking permission), it failed to work. Her mother said it felt like someone was trying to do something unpleasant but she could only pinpoint the direction it was coming from and not who was doing it. After that, she had decided to stick to animals until she had gained more synchronization. When she was lucky enough to find an animal in Hypnotize range, she couldn¡¯t make it do anything but freeze when the spell worked. She was able to approach and touch the animal she was Hypnotizing but the length of time the ability worked on an animal was based on how big it was and what it was doing when she used the ability. If she found a sleeping squirrel, the freeze would last longer than if she found one that was awake and aware of her. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 60%
Illusion 100% Disguise Self
Illusion 100% Decoy
Illusion 100% Cloaking
Illusion 100% Shadow Blade
Illusion 100% Dazzle
Illusion 15% Fear
Illusion 5% Hypnotize
Illusion 15% Enchant
Water 3%
Water 22% Water Manipulation
The skill barriers were proving to be difficult for her to cross. It was also becoming quite a bit more difficult for her to naturally gain stat points.
Level 34
Age 7 1/2
Experience (58420/59500)
Health 280/280
Mana 750/750
Stat Points 165
Skill Points 6
Strength 20
Constitution 28
Dexterity 22
Intelligence 78
Wisdom 75
[Traits] [Skills] [Magic]
[Basic Skills]
Acting 38
Climbing 20
Drawing 10
Language - Common MAX
Mathematics 24
Meditation 20
Running 20
Writing 20
[Novice Skills]
Sneak 20
Visualization 32
[Advanced Skills]
Mental Notes 15
Language - Runic MAX
While she had made some progress on some of her skills, she decided she would try to pick up more basic skills. The low-hanging fruit that she could think of was the skill for cooking and whittling. They had begun to stop earlier in the evenings to set up camp. She would ask her mother to teach her how to make stew and other meals that they prepared. While she had helped cook in the past, she has never been the only one doing it and had not done any of the seasonings. Her father had brought a few of his whittling tools with him when they had packed their bags. The tools were small, lightweight, and potentially useful to carve wood scraps for starting a fire. She would ask him for lessons on whittling at night when they were sitting around the fire before bed.
When they arrived at the lake, she wanted to go swimming immediately. The closest portion of the lake was crystal clear and she could see rounded river rocks at the bottom of it. The water became murkier as you got closer to the center of the lake because there was a current flowing from the north and heading east in a large arc. The section they arrived at was a secluded section away from the current with a large variety of fish. She dropped her bag and started removing her leather armor as well as the pants and boots her mother had made for her. As she was heading toward the water in her dress, her mother said ¡°And what do you think you are doing young lady? We can teach you to swim after we¡¯ve set up camp. Until then, please help us get everything together.¡± It took her a moment to realize she had never learned how to swim in this world. After camp was set up, all three of them stripped down to the bare minimum to keep their modesty and approached the lake to swim. All it took was a single toe in the water for Violet to start having second thoughts about wanting to swim. While the water was not freezing cold, it was far from warm. Her dad got a running start and then jumped in feet first. It did not work out so well for him because it was not quite deep enough where he landed but it was enough for him to dunk his head and come back up with a shout. ¡°Come on in! The water is great!¡± Her mother rolled her eyes at his antics and held her hand as they slowly walked into the lake. The rocks on the bottom did not feel great on their feet but they were all rounded so they did not have to worry about getting cut. When Violet got up to her waist, she decided to dunk her head and get acclimated all at once for the rest of her body. It did not take long for the lake to feel comfortable and pretty soon she was showing off her previous life swimming skills by swimming between her parents. [Skill gained: Swimming 1] Chapter 31 - Learning About Magic They continued on their journey, following the lake heading south. Violet and her parent¡¯s goal was to make it to the river running east from the lake. It took the trio two days to reach the area where the lake turned into a river. While there was a current along the river, it was not flowing at high speeds, and fish were plentiful. Her mother had woven a net out of vines they found growing on one of the trees. The vines were difficult to cut but were flexible enough for her to knot together. After she had enough netting, she attached it to a branch which she bent into a wide mouth for them to be able to catch fish. It had taken several attempts before they could snatch the first fish, but with a few tweaks to her original design, they each took turns trying to catch fish. Violet took this time to quiz her parents on some of the things she had been afraid to ask, or they would not answer in the past. The main thing she wanted to learn about was magic. Having a lack of information about something so big in her life was starting to bother her. The first question she asked was what happened to all of the babies born with a mark. It took quite a bit of prodding to get any type of answer out of them. In the end, the answer was that nobody knew for sure, and all they knew of were rumors. Several rumors were going around, but only one fact was semi-proven. Any woman who gave birth to a magical child was placed in a noble¡¯s harem immediately. What happened to the children was a little more conflicted. Some people said that they raised the children in secret bunkers and brainwashed them from birth to love and serve the nobles. Another theory was that male children were adopted by nobles and raised as their next heir. They were rumored to barter the children off to one of the neighboring countries as a bribe to be left alone. In the end, nobody they had ever talked to about it knew for sure what happened to the babies. When she asked if nobles were known to have magic, they said that she was the first person ever to do any magic in front of them. If nobles had spells, then they were careful about using them. Violet felt it was hard to believe that at least one of the servants around the nobles had not seen them do magic and gossiped about it. It was a mystery she would have to solve at a later date. She wasn¡¯t going to start some crusade to free a bunch of likely brainwashed children she didn¡¯t even know just because they had magic. She had asked her parents for any information they had about magic through old texts or gossip. This question yielded even more conflicting results. Some of the older manuscripts said it was possible to learn specific magical spells from a special scroll. The spells learned were elaborate with hand motions, chants, and special conditions for use. Only one person could read and learn from the scroll before it would disintegrate. Violet could imagine how a high-level illusionist with enchanting may be able to create such a scroll, but the nonsense about gestures, chants, and special conditions confused her. Her father chose that moment to chime in and say there may be more than one type of magic. He thought what Violet had was a form of magic that the ancients of olden times had used. Lore he had read said that the marks were how to spot people who could learn the old ways of magic. The new form of magic with scrolls and chants was a watered-down version of what the ancients had accessible to them. In the end, magic was a taboo subject nobody was allowed to discuss openly, so all her parents had to go off were rumors and a forbidden text they found that was heavily damaged. She asked what they knew about magical areas and magical creatures next. They were a lot more knowledgeable in these areas. There were three different types of magical regions. Above ground and unmoving, below ground and stationary, and temporary places above or below ground. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The first type was magical areas that were above ground that did not move. These places were most often centered on an object or place. An example of one of these places was an area centered on an immense tree that could be seen from hundreds of miles away. Another site was located on a lake. They even knew of a place that was centered on a gravestone. Nobody knew how the places were formed, but there were always magical creatures in the area soaking up the ambient mana. The next type of magical area was an underground cave system. These systems could span multiple floors and have several confusing rooms. Often, sections in these caves would cave in, or a pit would open up beneath you if you stepped in the wrong area. When Violet asked if particular groups of people made a living by killing magical creatures in this area, her parents laughed and asked why anyone would want to throw their life away. Killing magical beasts did not grant you mystical powers, and the meat was often poisonous. The last type of magical area they said was the most dangerous. A magical site could pop up randomly in a temporary location. These areas were often so mana rich that it made people sick if they stayed in place for too long. There were fewer magical beasts in this area, but they were often more intelligent and more deadly if they took offense to your presence. The most famous temporary magical site was said to have a sapient dragon at its center. Supposedly if you amused it, it would grant you wishes. Her mother said a dragon granting wishes was ridiculous and made up to get foolish people killed.
As the days went by, their rations began to dwindle. They could supplement their food supplies with fish from the river when they got lucky and foraging plants along their route. The river was not always hospitable to fishing. She was glad they did not take the time to build a raft because they had come across several areas with large rocks creating rapids. Some branches had also fallen into the river, causing obstructions as well. She made a workout routine that she did at night before they went to bed. Some guy who liked to call himself a bear did a full-body workout for the wilderness she had watched on social media and made fun of with her friends when it came out. She did not remember all of it, but she recreated what she could with squat jumps, pushups, pullups, and she even got a rock involved to make the exercise more intense. It was becoming more difficult for her to raise her stats as she got older. When she had compared her Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity with Sky, she was only a few stat points higher than him. She had gotten lazy with leveling her skills and trying to keep raising her stats while she was engrossed in leveling her magic. Practicing her magic increased her Intelligence and Wisdom because she was constantly trying to develop new ways to use her aspects. All of Sky¡¯s stats were in the twenties, with his Constitution being the highest stat he had. Not wanting him to feel bad, she had not told him how much higher her mental stats were compared to his. She would spend extra time thinking of new ways to use her aspects or working on brain teasers in the mornings. She had been using Mental Notes quite a bit to help with her mental skills. Sudoku was the go-to mental puzzle that she created in Mental Notes. She had spent a whole morning creating blank puzzles to solve at a later time. What shocked her the most was before she had been born here, doing a six-by-six grid was enough to keep her occupied for a while trying to solve it. Since she had come to Zogara, she found her memory and problem-solving skills had gotten better. She could now solve nine by nine grids of sudoku in the same amount of time she used to solve the six by six grids. To level the skills she had been neglecting for magic, she used the trees and forested areas. When they would stop for their midday rest, she would start by practicing her sneaking skills. She would play sneak and seek with her parents with rules on how far they could travel into the treeline. Trying to incorporate as many skills as she could into these games, she made sure to climb trees to increase the difficulty of staying quiet and unseen and leveling up her climbing skill. She could only get her newly acquired swimming skill to ten because her parents did not want her to swim unless they found an off-channel area outside the main river flow. Even if she was not allowed to swim, she made a point to spend a large portion of her mana trying to manipulate the water in different ways to raise her synchronization. Chapter 32 - The Fork It had taken them a month of traveling along the river to reach the fork. One side of the Y curved northeast while the other curved southeast. After quite a bit of conversation along their way here, they decided to follow the southeast curve of the river. Going southeast would lead them to the Queendom of Kasmaya, to swim where they hoped to start a new life away from the regimented Chromatic Dominion. Her father originally had wanted to go north to seek out Astresh. He wanted to study their beliefs and had an interest in seeing little people. Her mother argued that he would most likely see little people in Kasmaya, and women were less likely to be discriminated against there. Violet had also wanted to go to Kasmaya because the idea of seeing other races excited her. They all hoped for a new start to live their lives without being watched every second of the day. By now, their food supplies were running low, and they were beginning to worry. The river was broad enough that it was difficult to get fish. It was not often that fish roamed close to the shore when they noticed activity in or near the water. Violet was frustrated that she could see them but not get them. In a stroke of brilliance, she created a massive net of ice across the river. Due to the size of the net she had created, her mana was quickly dropping. She maneuvered the net to scoop as many fish as she could and pushed them all onto the shoreline. By the time the fish were flopping on shore, her mana pool was empty. Looking at her catch, she felt it had been worth it. Her mom and dad were quick to help her catch the fish before they flopped back into the water. A few fish still got away, but they could gather twenty fish from the shore before losing too many. Each of the trout-like fish she managed to catch were fourteen to eighteen inches in length. It was enough that they called the day early so they could smoke all of the fish. It took the rest of that day and quite a bit of the next day to finish smoking the fish they did not immediately cook and eat. Smoking the fish would make it last a week or more before it spoiled. She was sure she would be thoroughly sick of fish by the time they reached civilization. Sick of it or not, she was thankful she had found a reliable method to obtain sustenance for them.
One month later, their path became more dangerous. The river flowed into a cave on the side of the mountain where the trio had arrived. The options were to scale the mountain and continue following the river on the other side or cobble together a raft and use it to traverse the river. The cave the river was flowing into was quite large. Violet estimated that it was twenty feet across, and the domed ceiling of the cave was ten feet above the water. Their main concern was they could not see the other end of the cave and did not know if it remained so hospitable the entire way through to the other side. Their alternative was to scale the mountain or attempt to go around it. The mountain stretched north and south as far as they could see in a long connected chain. At the peaks of the mountains, they could see caps of white to indicate that there was snowpack still present. The incline heading to the top of the mountain was also very steep and would be difficult for them to traverse. While the further they traveled south, the colder the weather became, they were not yet in danger of becoming too frigid at night with a fire present. ¡°I think we should build a raft and float down the river. The current is slow enough to use Water Manipulation to help keep us in the center of the water. Hopefully, there will be places we can stop inside to rest, but we should build a raft big enough for us to lay down.¡± Violet suggested to her parents. ¡°What happens when the sun no longer provides light? You cant see in the dark to help navigate, and your Dazzle aspect will blind us rather than help us see.¡± Her mother replied. ¡°There is also the genuine possibility of the clearance in the cave lowering to the point where it ends up going underground. That plan is hazardous and could get us all killed.¡± Her father said, agreeing with her mother. ¡°But it will take us ages to go around these mountains, and they are too tall for us to be climbing. What happens when we leave the river and run out of fish to eat?¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°I think our best course of action is to walk for a minimum of two days along the mountain to see if there are any trails. If the animals are using them, it might lead to the other side.¡± Her father said. Before they had left the river, they spent the day catching and smoking fish to supplement their food reserves. They still had some oats and jerky, but they wanted to make those last as long as possible. After Violet had become a pro angler, all they ate was the foraged plants and fish on their journey. They chose to go south instead of north because they did not want to cross the river to head north. It was the middle of the second day when they found a trail that looked well-traveled. All of the footprints on the ground looked to be made by animals. What made her a little worried was the sight of the larger ones.
It had taken them three days to reach the top. Each night they had needed to build a fire up higher to ward off stray animals. Last night had been the worst night for animal encounters. Her father had to wave a burning branch from the fire in the face of a sizeable dog-like creature to get it to leave them alone. The temperature dropped below freezing when they reached the summit. The trio had started to wear a blanket around themselves during the day to help keep warm. The leather armor her parents were wearing was helping them to mitigate the cold. They had enough leather scraps for her mother to fashion arm coverings for Violet because the vest dress she was wearing did not have sleeves. On the eastern side of the mountain, there were quite a few flying animals in the air at all times. She was thankful they were still far from her group because some birds were large enough to lift her. Violet had never been afraid of heights, but the idea of flying in the claws of one of those birds did not seem like a fun idea. ¡°We need to avoid any clearings we come across. Those birds are known to carry children and livestock away to their nests.¡± Her mother said, almost as if she were reading Violet¡¯s mind. ¡°Why are there so many of them up there? They don''t even look to be the same type of bird.¡± ¡°It is not normal for that many birds to assemble in one place. That is either the site of a battle or a magical area. We will need to make sure to avoid the area regardless of the reason the birds are there.¡± It was difficult to see any details on the birds from a distance, but she could make out quite a few different colors. Some were all one color, while the larger birds had several colors reminding her of a Macaw if it were the size of a condor. She had no plans to see any of them up close. The slope on the eastern side of the mountain had a gentle incline with quite a few trees, so avoiding the birds should be easy for them. They spent the next two days under the tree canopy with no view of the sky. Animal sightings quickly turned into animal attacks. They had to fight off several dog-like animals as well as one enormous cat-like animal. Violet was fortunate to notice the cat before it pounced on them. Her practice with Hypnotize had paid off because she was able to use it on the cat while her father quickly killed it. Hypnotize would fail quite a bit when she had lower synchronization, but her range and success rate increased as she gained synchronization. When she used it, the animals would freeze in place. Larger animals still broke out of her spell quickly, but it was usually enough for them to kill it safely. When they made it to the treeline, it opened up into a large field, and it was clear that her father¡¯s navigation technique had failed them. The birds appeared to be circling the remains of a significant battle in the field in front of them. After seeing the area, they immediately retreated into the trees. They had made it three steps before hearing ¡°HALT!¡± There was a man on a horse in their path into the trees. After getting a second look, she realized that the man was the horse. Centaurs exist in this world! He was wearing a dark red uniform jacket on his human-looking half, and he had a bag strapped along his horse half¡¯s back to carry supplies. From the trees, she spotted several skinny people with arrows trained on the trio. Quite a few of them had long hair and feminine features leading her to believe they allowed women into their army. She had made it to the Queendom, but it did not look like their reception was going to be a good one. ¡°Drop your bags and weapons and back up until you have reached the field. Only one of you appears to be from Astresh, and she is possibly a child. We will take no chances, submit, and no harm will come to you.¡± The giant centaur commanded. They each dropped their things and began to slowly back into the field with their hands up. One of the skinny women came up to them with rope to tie their hands. The woman had long pointed ears that she could control the movement of. Knowing other races existed and seeing it was a big shock for Violet. The elven woman was beautiful with long golden hair that was in a braid down her back. She changed her mind about the beauty due to the rough handling she received from the elf. The elf pulled her further into the field, inspecting her proportions. After the indignity of having her teeth examined, the elf grudgingly reported that Violet was a child and not part of Astresh. ¡°Stay put, human. We still don''t trust you.¡± She said before walking away. Chapter 33 - Flight Violet watched as the soldiers from the Queendom rifled through their possessions. They emptied the bags one at a time, looked over the contents, and then repacked the bag. Food was confiscated from their bags, but clothing, tools, and blankets were all repacked. It was annoying how slow they were being. They were treating each item like it might be a possible bomb. Once their hands were tied, the elves from the treeline stopped pointing their arrows at them. ¡°Sorry folks, this is common practice when we find strangers where there should not be any. Once you get to the capital, you can plead your case.¡± The centaur said as he was watching their supply inspection. As they were packing up their last bag, the worst thing possible happened. Violet felt a quick burst of air behind her, followed by the sensation of someone picking her up by her shoulders. It was over so quickly nobody had a chance to react. She saw a few arrows fly by her that she was thankful missed. If the missiles had hit the bird carrying her, she would have fallen to her death. Having the arrow hit her would also be a terrible outcome. The bird that had stolen her was massive. Its feathers were all shades of blue. The bird had dark blue wings that turned lighter as you got closer to the body from underneath. She was unsure what the pattern looked like on its back. What she was sure of was that the claws holding onto her shoulders were wicked sharp. The leather vest that she was wearing is what saved her from being impaled by claws. She would have bruises on her shoulders, but so far, the claws had not broken her skin. There was no way she could think of using her magic that would not end in her death from being dropped. Using her shadow blade, she cut the ropes off her hands. She discovered that she could create a knife from any part of her body, so removing the cord from her wrists was simple. Going over the aspects she had, she decided her best bet was to use Disguise Self to make herself look like the bird carrying her. She was able to disguise her clothing as well as her skin with that aspect. The feathers she could create were an optical illusion, but she took the time to study what they should look like during her flight. Looking down would likely cause her to panic, so she took this time to center herself and perfect the illusion she would create on herself. After ten minutes of flight, she was starting to lose her patience. Her arms were aching, and she just wanted to feel solid ground beneath her feet once again. It was when they began to lose altitude that she finally looked down. They had flown north along the mountain. In a clearing not far from the mountain summit, there was what looked to have been an old monastery. There was rubble on the ground where each of the buildings had once stood. There were quite a few birds nesting in the rubble. Many of them used the bricks as one of the materials for their nest. The rocks were shaped into a bowl, and grass and vines were used as bedding in the center. Many of the nests they flew by had eggs in them that had not hatched yet. She chose to give herself shades of purple feathers for her disguise. It was not a unique color from those birds she had seen on her way. She was unsure if she had gotten the beak to look correct without a mirror, but she hoped her captors were not very smart. Her kidnapper flew into the largest and most intact structure and dropped her gently beside a gigantic nest with four eggs nestled inside of it. The eggs were the same size as she was tall and bigger around. Making sure to move slowly, she crept away from the nest and looked along the walls for an exit. She had only made it a few steps away from the next before the most giant bird she had ever seen landed on the nest. The plumage on the bird was breathtaking. Starting on the tips of the wings, it had an entire rainbow of colors, starting with red. Each feather blended perfectly with the one next to it, so there was no clear line of where one color started, and the next began. ¡°You don''t smell like a bird, little one.¡± The bird screeched in a high-pitched voice. Violet took that moment to run for all she was worth to the closest wall. The bird started to laugh at her when Violet began running. ¡°The only way you are getting out of here is if those wings work. Caw caw caw.¡± The bird let her run around the walls twice before it stuck a claw out to stop her. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Finding herself cornered, Violet used Dazzle to blind the bird and get away from the claw. The Dazzle was timed and aimed perfectly because the foot retracted, allowing Violet to run away. When the bird cornered her the next time, she tried to use Hypnotize, but that did not work at all. Attempting to use Fear was useless as well. Violet used Dazzle one more time and immediately used Cloaking to hide. Unfortunately, the bird was not affected by the Dazzle a second time and was watching her when she turned invisible. ¡°Little one, I can still smell you, and I can see your body heat. Are you quite finished running around like a hatchling yet?¡± To make her point known, the bird picked Violet up in her claw. The claw was large enough to wrap around Violet¡¯s body easily. While she had a few more tricks up her sleeve with Shadow Blade and Water Manipulation, she realized trying to harm this bird would be suicide. She let her body go limp and said, ¡°What do you want with me? Please let me go.¡± ¡°That is so cute! You were meant to be food for my babies, but it has been so long since I had myself a pet magician. I think I shall keep you.¡± Violet was unsure of how to respond to this. She decided that she would play nice and run away at the first opportunity that she found. ¡°You have met other people who can do magic?¡± ¡°Oh, dearie Ms. Avery has been around for a long, long time, and let me tell you, your magic reeks of the stuff the ancients used back when I was a chick.¡± As Avery talked, vertical bars started to rise around the center platform where the nest was. The bars were one foot wide and spaced six inches apart. They stopped growing when they reached a height of ten feet and were all connected with a horizontal beam along their tops. The beam jutted out two feet on each side of the bars to create an overhang at the top. Avery did a quick hop into the newly created jail and set Violet down. ¡°I know what your thinkin, your thinkin that lovely birdie just did magic right before your eyes, mmhmm. That¡¯s right, girlie, I have both Air and Earth magic at my disposal. Don''t be using any more of that Illusion magic on me, or I¡¯ll be changin my mind bout keepin ya alive ya hear?¡± After seeing Violet nodding in agreement, Avery went to her nest to incubate her eggs and promptly fell asleep. She wasn¡¯t sure if Avery was asleep and suspected she wasn¡¯t, so she rested her back on one of the bars and sat down to think. ¡®Great, not only is the bird sapient, but she also has magic. Based on the way she grew these bars, I¡¯m not the first prisoner she has kept. Even if I managed to climb up the smooth bars, I would have to reach two feet out to try and get over the top.¡¯ As the sun began to set, she faced another more pressing problem: she had no food. Her stomach was growling when Avery woke from her nap. ¡°Hungry little one? No worries, dinner should be on its way here shortly. I made sure to order you some berries for tonight. I don''t much like fire, so I will not allow you to have one for meat until I trust you a little more. When you get cold, you may climb in the nest with me. Be warned, if there is any funny business, you will be food, no second chances. Ain¡¯t no way you can hurt me, but some idiots always try.¡± ¡°What do you get out of this? I don''t understand why you are keeping me here.¡± ¡°Oh, honey, I¡¯m bored out of my mind sittin on these eggs day and night. I need something to amuse me. Those other birds can mimic the sound, but they can¡¯t hold a real conversation. Besides, half of them are dumb as the rocks they use in their nest.¡± True to her word, an entire berry bush was brought for Violet¡¯s dinner. There were enough ripe berries on it that she had enough to fill her belly for the night and a little bit more for the morning. The berries were similar to a raspberry, rich in both water and fiber. Her father had picked them multiple times to supplement their meals. The temperature fell when the sun vanished for the night. She toughed out the cold the best that she could by curling herself into a ball and tucking her arms into her dress. After two hours of shivering, Avery spoke up, ¡°Girl, you ain¡¯t provin nothin¡¯ by shivering over there in the corner. Come here, or I will move the bars, so you have no choice but to be in the nest with me at all times.¡± When Violet did not move fast enough, she felt herself in Avery¡¯s beak. The movement was so fast she didn¡¯t even see it coming. She was dropped unceremoniously next to one of the eggs in the nest and then covered in warm feathers shortly after that. It did not take long for her to fall asleep after that. The day had been a long and stressful one. Chapter 34 - Avery ¡°Good morning, dearie!¡± Avery chirped, acting way too happy for the sun being so low in the sky. Violet rolled over and grumbled something that may have been interpreted as a hello. ¡°We are going to have so much fun today! First, we need to get you all learned up on that poor excuse for magic you have been using. It has been so long since I¡¯ve had a magical pupil.¡± That succeeded in waking Violet up. She had been winging her magic this whole time with no chance of finding a real trainer. Her aspects left her with a general idea of what to do but not everything possible. She had so many questions she needed someone to answer about her magic. Learning about her magic while she waited to make her escape sounded like a great idea to her. With that plan in place, she decided the only thing about her magic she would keep a secret was her limitless trait. She was close to 100% overall synchronization between Illusion and Water now. Her Illusion was at 81%, and Water was maxed at 12% because she could not get new aspects to bring it higher. With how expensive Enchant was in mana, she had only been able to practice at night. Regular rocks worked just as well as the fancy-shaped stones back at the old academy. The only thing she needed to pay attention to was to make sure it was about the same size as the cubes had been. If she tried on a smaller rock, the mana cost went through the roof. Larger stones did not save her any mana. ¡°Well, child, do you want to learn the secrets of ancient magic or not?¡± That knocked Violet out of her internal musings. ¡°That would interest me quite a bit, Ms. Avery. What would you want in return for this knowledge?¡± ¡°Right to the heart of the matter, I see. Like I said yesterday, I am bored out of my mind, and these eggs will not incubate themselves. What I will require from you are three things. I¡¯ll write them down so you can think about it. Don¡¯t think too long, or I may change my mind.¡± The ground in front of the nest began to morph into a list of terms. The terms that she listed were generous, but they required her to sacrifice two years of her life to live in an aviary. The non-aggression pact meant she would be able to relax around Avery a little more secure in knowing she would not become lunch at any moment. She was pretty sure if secrecy was a big deal to Avery, then there was no way she would get out of this place alive without the pact of secrecy. ¡°Is there a way to let my parents know that I am alive and doing ok?¡± ¡°I can arrange for letters to be carried between you once a season. It will likely take some doing to find them initially. One human looks a lot like the rest to us birds.¡± ¡°Would it help if I create their likeness with my Decoy aspect so the messenger can get a good look at them before leaving?¡± ¡°Ah yes, the wonders of Illusion magic. That would speed the search quite a bit. I will be reading any letter you send them before it goes out. This aviary is a secret place that is sacred to my kind.¡± ¡°If I can write to my parents, I would be happy to keep you company. Why do you need me to stay for so long? I am not far from getting my magic to 100% synchronization. Learning the details of each aspect surely cant take that long.¡± That caused Avery to have a fit of laughing. After she had gotten herself under control, she said, ¡°Oh, you are so precious dear one. Getting to 100% is just the beginning of a very long and involved process. You will never stop learning magic. As for why I require two years, it will take me nearly that long to infuse enough mana into these eggs for them to be able to hatch.¡± ¡°Is that something you would require me to help with? Infusing your eggs with mana, that is.¡± ¡°Oh heavens no, the only mana that will be touching these eggs will be mine. If you tried something stupid like that, the protections I have on the eggs would likely kill you.¡± Avery seemed quite offended that Violet would even suggest something like that. ¡°If you agree to my terms, go ahead and write up the contract for the system to enforce. Fortunately, you have Illusion magic. Without a contract, I would not be able to trust you at all.¡± Violet¡¯s heart dropped when she heard that. The only aspect she was unable to pick up for Illusion was Contracts. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ms. Avery, but I don''t have the Contracts aspect.¡± ¡°Oh, that is easy enough to fix, dearie.¡± As she spoke, the bars on her jail cell melted back into the ground. At the very center of the building, a large stone slab was moved to one side, revealing what looked to be a Solar Crystal. ¡°Be gentle with the crystal honey. It is ancient and was open to the elements for quite some time before I found it. If it cracks, the enchantment on it will break, and the crystal will become useless.¡± She stood and walked reverently to the solar crystal. Before she had made it halfway, Avery spoke again. ¡°You may only use this to pick up the Contract aspect you lack. If you do more, I will know, and your life will be forfeit. No funny business now ya hear?¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Violet nodded her head and sat on the ground next to the crystal. Touching the crystal brought her back to the mindscape with which she was familiar. A prompt was waiting for her to choose which school of magic to visit. She selected illusion and spent an excruciatingly long time unearthing her last aspect. If she failed to get this aspect, it would likely mean her death. Excavation integrity calculating¡­ 100% Congratulations, with your attention to detail, a bonus of 5% synchronization has been added to this aspect at the start for a total of 6% When the prompt popped up asking if she wanted to enter the water area, she clicked no. Once she created a contract with Avery, she knew she would be allowed to come back. Just knowing a solar crystal was here helped. Avery took a moment to inspect her after Violet had touched the crystal. ¡°I am happy I don¡¯t have to kill you, dear one.¡± The giant bird then did something unexpected. She created an illusion of Violet¡¯s Magic sheet. It scared Violet quite a bit that someone other than her had access to this information.
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 82%
Illusion 100% Cloaking
Illusion 6% Contracts
Illusion 100% Dazzle
Illusion 100% Decoy
Illusion 100% Disguise Self
Illusion 26% Enchant
Illusion 100% Fear
Illusion 100% Hypnotize
Illusion 100% Shadow Blade
Water 12%
Water 100% Water Manipulation
¡°6% for such an advanced aspect is quite good. You must have spent extra time and effort to make sure everything went right. Yes, dearie, I have been able to see your entire status this whole time. I needed to know if you could be trusted.¡± ¡°You can see all of it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to waste any more mana on this device to show you in an illusion, but yes, I know about your traits and your highly abnormal mental stats. I¡¯m half tempted to start teaching you languages instead of magic just to see how fast you can learn them. Don''t worry, sweetie. A deal is a deal. Now write up one contract for every bullet point on my list right there.¡± She said while tilting her head toward the terms she wrote on the stone floor. Opening her first contract, she started to fill out the header. Who: Violet Tidwell & Avery Swiftwing Terms: Non-aggression - Physical and/or emotional harm may not happen on purpose by either party. They may not order another to cause harm and must do all in their power to prevent lasting injury from all other sources. Term Length: Two years from this date unless both parties agree to extend or shorten the contract. Consequences: Any harm inflicted to the innocent party will also be suffered by the aggressor two times worse. She had consulted with Avery to get the wording correct and close any apparent loopholes. They left a clause in there so they could extend the contract if needed. Who: Violet Tidwell & Avery Swiftwing Terms: Secrecy - Violet will not tell or show anyone the location of the aviary. She will not speak of what she learns about the inhabitants of this place. Term Length: Life Consequences: If the information is extracted unwillingly, she will lose the knowledge of the aviary and its inhabitants. If the information was given willingly, Instant death. The final contract she created had fewer teeth. Who: Violet Tidwell & Avery Swiftwing Terms: Companionship - Violet will willingly stay with Avery for the term length. In return, Avery will guide Violet in the ways of magic. Term Length: Two years from this date unless both parties agree to extend or shorten the contract. Consequences: If one party does not hold up their end of the bargain, the other may cancel the contract with two weeks¡¯ notice. Each contract she wrote was created in the system. It even started a new tab on her status sheet for active contracts. She would be able to go back at any time and read the wording of every agreement she had.
[Contracts]
Status Title Time Left
Active Companionship 2 years
Active Non-Aggression 2 years
Active Secrecy Life
She had gotten 5% synchronization for each two-year contract and a whopping 20% synchronization for her lifetime contract. When she asked Avery about it, she said it was because of the length of time and the severity of the consequences. Death or loss of knowledge were harsh consequences for a contract. Chapter 35 - Choices After the contracts were in the system, Avery quit threatening her with death. It was a little jarring how much confidence she had in the system-enforced contracts. Violet decided to be very careful with any agreement she created in the future. Wording something poorly could have horrible consequences. ¡°Go ahead and pick up your other Water aspect, dearie. I would suggest picking up something you can attack with.¡± When Violet gave her a blank look, she elaborated. ¡°Hun, now that I know you can''t spill our secrets here, I don''t need to hold you captive. I will still help you get in touch with your parents, and I am still willing to teach you for your company. My terms for teaching you have changed. I will give you a month of training and then give you a challenge you must complete. You will need to decide by then if you will be staying and completing the challenge or leaving with one of my kind dropping you off at the nearest town.¡± ¡°Why did you change your mind? I thought you said you needed someone to sing and dance and entertain you while you tend your eggs.¡± That statement set Avery off to a round of laughter. ¡°Oh, girlie! The look on your face when I demanded that was priceless. Just you being around will be enough entertainment for me. Dealing with someone who does not want to be here while trying to tend to my babies is not my idea of entertainment. I would like you to stay, honey, but I don''t want a prisoner.¡±
With the air clear, Violet decided to wait on word from her parents to decide to stay or go ultimately. After picking up the Ice Shards aspect, Avery had produced ink and paper to write her parents a note. She had written a short letter to her parents, letting them know that she had been rescued by a master magician who was willing to teach her. She asked if it would be good to stay in the letter or if they wanted her back with them immediately. She had no idea what had happened to her parents. Avery said she did not keep up with politics, but it was likely that her parents would be accepted as refugees. Violet hoped this was true. Her parents were both hard-working people. Even if they could not find jobs as researchers, her father liked to carve, and her mother did well with embroidery. It had taken two weeks before the messenger bird came back with a response from her parents. Dearest Violet, Your father and I were both very distraught when you were taken from us. The soldiers with us searched the hills for over a week before the search was called off, and it was presumed you were dead. As a result of their folly, we were granted citizenship in the Queendom of Kasmaya quickly after that. We are currently staying with a kindly grandmother who needs someone around her house to help with daily chores. Magic is not controlled here like it was in the dominion, but finding a teacher for you would be costly. The mages here require a minimum of five years of apprenticeship and a contract to train you anything. If you have a teacher who only requires two years of your time, learning magic there is the best option. Know that we miss you terribly and love you with our whole hearts. Please write us as often as you can. With love, Mom & Dad Avery had read the letter before it was given to Violet. She claimed it was for security, but Violet thought the bird was just nosey. ¡°It looks like you have your parent¡¯s seal of approval.¡± ¡°If they only knew I was learning magic from an ancient bird,¡± Violet replied, chuckling. ¡°Hey now, missy! I¡¯m not THAT old, only a few centuries. Besides, those hacks that call themselves magicians are all frauds. Oh, don''t get me wrong, they can do spells, but they are all a watered-down version of what we can do.¡±
After receiving the letter from her parents and formally agreeing to undertake the challenge that Avery mentioned, she was constantly doing some form of training. The main focus of her training was on combat and defense. Avery did not say what the challenge would be, but she assumed it would be dangerous based on this training. Every morning would start with her shooting ice shards at several targets until she could hit them consistently. Once she was able to hit them, the marks began to move. At first, the movement was predictable, but when that was mastered, the targets became erratic. Target training would only end when she had drained all of her mana. Once her mana was gone, she was told to meditate and feel the mana in the air. It had taken her three weeks, but she was able to cross her Meditation barrier once she was able to identify the mana in the air. Avery was able to walk her through gaining her next skill. [Skill gained: Mana Regeneration 1] Mana Regeneration was a novice ranked skill that allowed her to absorb ambient mana from her surroundings to increase her regeneration rate. Her regeneration rate would change based on how much ambient mana was in the air and how high her skill was. According to Avery, their area was rich with ambient magic and warned her not to get used to getting so much back. She was a little confused when she received a skill for magic. So far, she had been thinking of the two screens as separate entities. Asking Avery about this oddity caused another round of laughter for the gigantic bird. Her screens were part of the same system, so it made perfect sense for Violet to gain a magic-related skill when it was not connected to a specific aspect. After she had regenerated a quarter of her mana back, she would move on to the next task of the day. This task varied from day to day based on Avery¡¯s mood. There was often a lecture about a specific aspect followed by her using that aspect in a new way. She had been using Hypnotize almost completely wrong this entire time. Hypnotize could be used to plant subtle suggestions in a mind. For non-sapients, this meant that she could suggest to the animal that it should do something. Success was based on what you wanted it to do. For example, if you asked a squirrel to do something it felt was dangerous, it would likely fail. If you had instead suggested to that squirrel that it should pick a few nuts from the tree it was in and drop them, it would have a higher success rate. What Violet had been doing was the same as yelling at the squirrel with no instructions to follow. The animals froze because they were waiting for instructions. She was a little embarrassed at that mistake. Intellectually she knew what it meant to hypnotize someone. By the second week, Avery had ordered her flock to hunt and bring back living samples of the wildlife. Several cages along the walls contained several kinds of cats, foxes, monkeys, and even some lesser birds. These animals were used for her to practice Hypnotize, Fear, and Disguise Self. She was given a set amount of time to study an animal and then disguise herself as that animal. Her aspect lessons lasted until she had regenerated 75% of her mana. Once that happened, Enchanting classes would begin. This was another source of amusement for Avery. Violet was doing it completely wrong. She was doing it the most expensive way the ancients could devise to discourage people from learning how to enchant. The cubes she was using were a work of a master enchanter to force unworthy people to lose synchronization and use astronomical amounts of mana. When she used one of the premade cubes, most of the mana cost would maintain the master enchant instead of what she was trying to do. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. When you enchant something, no magical menu would pop up and walk her through it. All she needed to do was focus clearly in her mind on what she wanted the enchant to do and have a big enough object to inscribe a rune on. It would save her mana if she etched the symbol on the thing before trying to enchant it. Without a symbol, it would cost her mana and synchronization to inscribe the object¡¯s rune magically. With the rune, mana smoothed out any imperfections, and synchronization would only be lost if she messed up the rune too severely. When she asked Avery how to do complex enchants as the ancients did, she was told she needed to hit tier two before accessing anything more extensive. ¡®Tier two?¡¯ Asking about the tiers had the poor bird in another round of laughter. ¡°Oh dear girl. I have never met someone so uneducated in magic before. Tier two happens when you reach 100% synchronization overall between your two magic schools. It is likely your limitless trait will be a hindrance to you here. You will either get the new magic system screen when Water plus Illusion adds up to 100%, or you will get it when each school of magic hits 100%. I am quite interested to find out, girlie.¡± To finish her day of training, she ran laps around the room while hitting distant targets with her Ice Shards and near targets with her Shadow Blade. She was expected to run until her mana ran out and then move on to situps and pushups until she dropped from exhaustion.
When she reached 100% synchronization adding Water and Illusion, nothing happened. She was disappointed that she did not even receive some bonus experience for the feat. Avery said not to worry. She had never heard of anyone who put effort into gaining synchronization, not eventually getting it. When Violet inquired about making simple contracts to level her aspect, Avery informed her that she would only get synchronization for three contracts per person. Her answer to helping Violet level that part was to teach her how to make contracts that did not involve the system. There were three types of contracts that Violet could currently make. System-based in-person, system-based via paper, and non-system-based via paper. The first type was what she had created with Avery and the most potent form of contract. She needed to be very careful about using this method and not take them lightly. The second type of contract she could create was system-based via paper. She needed to be very careful with this type of contract as well. Death was not an option for this type of contract¡¯s consequences, but a lifetime of slavery was. The agreement was written on special paper that could hold mana, and both parties would need to sign it using their blood as ink. The third type of contract was the most common type of contract she should be writing. While this type of contract did not use the system interface, the system was still used to track terms. This type of contract could do several things. If the contract was for services rendered, the agreement would hold the promised payment in trust to complete services. Another use for this type of contract was for employment or to keep a secret. Both parties would be informed if the contract was broken, but the system would render no punishment. The huge disadvantage to using the third type of contract was only an ancient Nature mage could create the paper needed to contain these contracts. Avery knew of such a mage but they did not work cheaply. When Violet asked about contracts that were being made in the city that her parents referred to, Avery said those were just paper contracts with no way of enforcing them other than being physically caught breaking one. If someone tried to sign a contract with another¡¯s blood, it would void the agreement. The system was heavily involved in all contracts, but it did not judge. Unfair contracts could be made, and the system would not do anything about them. With how dangerous this was, Violet made a vow to never use contracts again. She would get her synchronization up to 100% and then never touch it again.
When Violet reached 16% synchronization with Water, she asked for and was granted access to the crystal to gain another aspect. The mindscape had not changed for her. The only aspect she had easy access to was Create Water, and she felt with her use of Water Manipulation, it would be a wasted aspect for now. The middle row of aspects had two feet of water covering them. Using Water Manipulation, she began to drag the top layer of sandy dirt away from the buried aspects. You have located the aspect for Waterbreathing. To obtain this aspect, you must completely unearth it. If the aspect becomes damaged, it is possible to lose it or obtain a weak version of it. Proceed with caution. Waterbreathing was located quite deep in the dirt before she had discovered it. With this thought in mind, she was quite a bit more aggressive when she started to search the middle plot because she wanted to have enough mana left to dig all three plots. Digging down to about an inch above where she had located Waterbreathing, she used her water manipulation to dig the dirt up in that section. You have located the aspect for Etching. A loud crack could be heard from the plot she was digging in. This aspect was not buried anywhere near as deep as Waterbreathing had been. With her rough handling of the dirt, she had already damaged the fragile object that represented this aspect. She was afraid if she let go of the soil her manipulation was holding back, it would break even more. Using her hands, she began to uncover and move the dirt away from the aspect gently. Unfortunately, she ran out of mana before she could completely clear the side of the soil. When her manipulation failed, she heard another crack coming from the object. She took this time to calm down and regenerate her mana. After several hours of Meditation with Mana Regeneration, she was at full mana once again. She took her time to ensure no more damage occurred while she was excavating. Excavation integrity calculating¡­ 69% Due to damage caused in the excavation process, no bonus synchronization will be awarded. This aspect will not be obtainable using this method. Be aware, anything less than 80% integrity will begin to degrade the effects of an aspect, and anything less than 70% will destroy it. She collapsed in mental exhaustion when she was kicked from her mindscape. ¡°Oh dearie, how badly did you botch it?¡± She mumbled her reply. ¡°That is not the end of the world, sweetness. It just means you need to have someone to teach you how to use that aspect before gaining it. The process to learn any aspect manually is extremely difficult but possible with someone to guide you through it.¡±
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 86%
Illusion 100% Cloaking
Illusion 36% Contracts
Illusion 100% Dazzle
Illusion 100% Decoy
Illusion 100% Disguise Self
Illusion 37% Enchant
Illusion 100% Fear
Illusion 100% Hypnotize
Illusion 100% Shadow Blade
Water 16%
Water 100% Water Manipulation
Water 39% Ice Shards
Chapter 36 - Challenge Part 1 The month she had been training hard through was finally over. She had mixed feelings about it being over. Avery¡¯s mate would be the one to administer the challenge for Violet. Rasmus would fly her to the challenge and observe her progress. All questions about the challenge were met with silence when she had asked throughout the month of training. The only answer she received was that a good challenge needed to be done without outside help. If anyone had to step in during the challenge, she would have failed and would be delivered to the town where her parents were staying. When Rasmus arrived to take her to the trial, he looked like a slightly larger version of Avery. His feathers were also the whole rainbow but more vibrant. In between each color was an outline of black to make each color stand out. He eyed Violet and said, ¡°I hope you pass, youngling. My Avery is quite taken with you.¡± He picked her up in one of his claws, and they went flying over the treetops. They flew for several hours before the scenery below them changed. There was a giant hedge maze that had to be at least a mile long on each side. She could see several animals wandering throughout the maze. In the center of the labyrinth, there was a giant tree. Landing at the base of the giant tree, Rasmus began to explain the rules to her of this challenge. As he spoke, an illusionary list floated in the air next to them. On the illusion were the bullet points of the rules he was explaining to her. After Rasmus answered her questions, he flew up onto one of the tree branches and settled in to watch her progress. She had only the clothes she was wearing and her whits to begin the trial. When Violet had asked about food, she was informed there were beasts to eat and foraging inside the maze. While she didn¡¯t want to eat raw meat, she would if she was desperate enough. She knew a human could last for several weeks without food as long as they had adequate access to water. Water would not be an issue for her. She had no interest in being lost in a maze for weeks, so the first thing she did was sit at the base of a tree and create a tiny Decoy of a bird. Her little bird flew above the labyrinth while Violet used Visualization to memorize the route she would need to take. There were no limits on time for this challenge, so she mapped the entire maze making sure to note down any large nests of beasts or where she may find foraging. Once she had mapped the entire maze, she attempted to create something like her Mental Notes to mark her route. It took her several attempts before she was able to manipulate the map the way she wanted to. [Skill gained: Pathfinding 1] As soon as she gained the skill, she placed marks on her visualized map, and finding the shortest path became more manageable. However, she chose not to go with the shortest path because the largest nest of beasts was along that route. Every direction had challenges to overcome, so she decided to take the shortest route with the least amount of danger. She waited for her mana to regenerate before setting off into the maze. The first challenge she came to was a pond filled with fish. She needed to cross six feet of water two feet deep on the edge nearest the hedges and quite deep near the center. She dared not swim because she could not see the bottom of the pond near the center. The other problem was the fish were aggressive carnivores. An animal had attempted to get a drink from the pond while she was observing from above. A large fish jumped up, grabbed its throat, and dragged it into the center of the pond before it had time to even register the danger. While the larger fish was carrying the animal below, the water had turned red as a feeding frenzy took place. To get over the pond, she created a thick ice bridge. The bridge included a three-foot vertical wall facing the water to keep her safe from jumping fish. She made sure to place her bridge at the very edge of the pond where it was most shallow. As soon as she made the ice, she sprinted across to conserve mana. That trick cost her a third of her mana to create and keep active while she ran through. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. When she was mapping this maze, there were several ponds like this one scattered throughout. It was an oddity she had not expected to find in a hedge maze. Then again, you usually don''t find foraging in a hedge maze either. The hedges themselves were six feet thick and fifteen feet tall. The space between each barrier varied, but she noted a minimum distance of eight feet between walls. There was a large amount of ambient mana in this area. Violet estimated that she regenerated twice as fast than she did at the aviary. It made a kind of sense that they would drop her in a magical area to test her. Beasts were drawn to this area, so there would be plenty of challenges before you even added in the labyrinth. Leaving the pond behind, she worked her way through the maze until she came to a large open area filled with plants. Her goal when choosing this direction was to forage food in this area before moving on to the first animal she was likely to encounter. The plant area opened up into a large clearing with a narrow path zig-zagging around the various large bushes. She would exit this area, not far from a sizeable willowy tree with multiple vines hanging from its branches. The tree was around thirty feet tall and around its branches spread out sixty feet in diameter. She kept a wary eye out for animals that made their home in this place as she started on the zig-zagging path. Rustling in the bushes could be heard as she slowly made her way into the clearing. She had not yet located any plants she knew were edible, and every noise had her jumping. She conjured a Shadow Blade to ease her nerves to have it ready if anything jumped at her. She had made it a third of the way through this section before anything happened. The first animal she had seen emerged from a hole in the ground not far from her. It was a tiny rat-like creature with a long fluffy tail reminding her of a chinchilla. As soon as she saw the animal charging at her, she shot off an Ice Shard to end the threat. The poor thing¡¯s head exploded on impact, and it just flopped over without making a sound. It was far enough into the bushes that she decided not to collect her kill. She was worried there would be more in hiding ready to avenge their fallen. She made it two steps further along the path before the corpse she had just created was dragged into the undergrowth and away from sight. From her vantage, it looked like the bushes swallowed it whole. It was confusing for her because plants weren¡¯t supposed to eat rats. She assumed it was another animal that had stolen the corpse while remaining hidden in the dense layer of the brush. When she made it to the center of the open area, the bush closest to the path shot a vine directly at her. Because she was on high alert, she was able to jump out of its way and bring her shadow blade down on the offending vine. A screeching sound could be heard from the bush after losing the appendage. The vine she had cut was leaking green fluid on the ground in front of her. In her rush to get away from the shrieking bush, she almost backed into another such bush. Once she knew about the vines, she could dodge them, and the plant could only snap one fast attack before it had to reset. To avoid any more episodes, she hurriedly moved further along the path she was on until she was out of range. She had to dodge several more shooting vines as she made her way further along the zig-zagging trail. All thoughts of leaving the safe(ish) path were abandoned, with the plant life attacking her. She made sure to assess all possible threats as she made her way along the path. It wasn¡¯t until she was two-thirds of the way through the clearing that the vines on the tree started to sway a little. If it weren¡¯t for the other plant life trying to attack her, she would have discounted the swaying as wind. There was no way she would get past that many vines to exit this area without her changing tactics. She decided to use the plants along the path as test subjects. She used them to see which of her aspects would help her the most with this. The first thing she tried was Fear. While that did produce a result, it was not one she was looking for. Once she used that aspect on the bush, it started to attack everything around itself wildly. She did not feel she had very good chances of dodging erratic vines. Hypnotize did absolutely nothing when she attempted to use it. She next used Disguise Self to make herself look like a bush. The plant she tested this theory on attacked her just as quickly as all previous ones had. It would make sense that the plant did not have the best vision. Assuming that the attacks were based on movement, she used Cloaking to turn herself invisible when she walked past the next bush. The bush did not attack until she kicked a rock in front of it. Walking past the evil bushes was simple once she started to use Cloaking. As she neared the garden exit, the vines on the tree started to become agitated. They began moving as if searching for something. Playing it safe, she activated her Sneak skill and slowly approached the vines and the exit beyond them. Sensing she was near, the tree began to search for her more actively. At the exit of the clearing, the vines were whipping themselves around in a predictable pattern, so she was able to time getting past them. Making it by the vines was anti-climatic. The big trick she was on edge for never happened. Chapter 36 - Challenge Part 2 It was beginning to get dark as she left the clearing behind her. She was not quite tired yet, but she did not like her chances of stumbling around this maze in the dark. Looking at her mental map, she located a dead-end section not too far off her path and decided to rest there for the night. To prepare for the night, she had picked up several dried branches and leaves along the way. She placed those down at the section¡¯s entrance she would be staying in and then backtracked two more times to gather foliage that would make noise when something moved it. Once she prepared her early alarm system as well as she could, she made her way to the back of the section to get settled for the night. She used Disguise Self to blend into the background so she would be challenging to see. One of the things that Avery had hammered into her head was her need to mask her scent while using this aspect. It had taken her several weeks to add scent masking that would stay on even after she had fallen asleep. She was grateful to have that ability now. Even with the countermeasures she had taken, she would be sleeping very little this night.
The noise trap she created had woken her several times throughout the night. Whatever was making the noise never came far enough into her offshoot path to look for her. She was able to use the sound of its breathing to judge where it was. It was impossible to tell how large the animal was based on breathing alone, but she knew it had to be at least medium-sized to make that much noise. When the sun had come up enough for her to see by, she sent her Decoy out in bird form to scout her path. She estimated that it would take her until around noon to complete this challenge and leave the maze. The main problem she had standing in her way was another clearing. She was worried about the clearing because it was home to several pig-like creatures. Wild boars were deadly creatures, and she needed to navigate through their den to reach the other side. The only other option she had was to take a much longer detour that would lead her to a cave filled with dog-like creatures. She had ultimately chosen the pigs because there were fewer animals in this clearing. There were twelve adults and six juvenile pigs. The adults ranged between two to three feet tall at their shoulders, while the juveniles were all around a foot tall. It looked like they had all come from the same litter. Her biggest threat was a gigantic male that was three and a half feet tall. The adults were around six to seven feet in length with large bellies that made them wider than they were tall. Going up against eighteen animals would be suicidal. Violet planned to try and separate them and pick them off individually. To do this, she flew her Decoy around the edge of the boar clearing to see if any would follow. This method worked a little too well because half of the animals in the clearing had charged to follow after the poor illusionary bird. The majority of the animals stopped running after her Decoy a few hundred feet from their clearing. When all but two animals had turned back, she slowed the illusion down to keep their interest. Her physical body was not far from them at this point, and she was ready to attack as soon as they came in range. She quickly cast Hypnotize on the first boar to make it around the corner with directions to lay down. Thankfully her command was successful, and she was able to attack the second pig with an Ice Shard as soon as she saw it. Her hit was successful, but it was not enough to kill the animal. It took three more hits for it to stop running at her. The boar had collapsed to the ground, but it was not dead yet. The pig she had hypnotized then shook itself out of its daze and charged her. Reacting quickly, she shot five shards at the charging animal¡¯s face before it fell to the ground. Both animals were down but not dead. Playing it safe, she got a little bit closer and continued to shoot Ice Shards at them until they ceased moving. When she thought they were both dead, she summoned her Shadow Blade and beheaded both boars to be safe. ¡®Two down, sixteen to go.¡¯ She used this method to lure out seven more boars. Violet had killed a total of seven adults and two juveniles by using a lure before they stopped following after her Decoy. There were nine animals left in the clearing, and unfortunately, the massive male was included in that number. Four of the remaining pigs were juveniles which were relatively easy for her to kill. To kill the remaining boars, she used guerrilla tactics to hit them and then run away. She summoned her Decoy and had it get their attention in the center of the clearing. Once every animal was looking at her illusionary bird, she cast Dazzle followed by Fear making them blindly flee, causing damage to others in the process. As soon as the chaos started, she started picking off the juveniles. She was able to kill two of them and wound two more before she noticed the effects of Fear wearing off of the adults, and she was forced to flee. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Two adult pigs chased after her when she ran from the area, forcing her to turn and face them before they caught up to her. She was able to ground one, but the other, she was forced into evasive maneuvers for once it came too close. Her Shadow Blade carved a deep line into the flank of the animal as it charged by her. The boar kicked out and lightly nicked her leg, causing her to fall to the ground in pain. From a sitting position, she cast three more Ice Shards to bring the animal down. Both of the downed boars were screaming quite loudly, which caused a third animal to investigate the scene. All of her previous kills were far enough away from the clearing not to attract much attention. She also had not let them scream for very long before now. Violet was in pain. She was pretty sure her leg was not broken, but her leg muscles were cramping up, and she would have a nasty bruise. Pulling on the fumes of her mana pool, she cast several Ice Shards, first attacking the new boar and then silencing the other two. She had noticed that her Ice Shards were doing more damage. It had taken her six hits to kill the first boar, but she could kill the last boar in four hits. Using live targets had significantly increased how quickly she gained synchronization. She had started this challenge with 39% synchronization in Ice Shards. Looking at her sheet now showed she was currently at 61% synchronization. Once she was sure no more boars were coming, she limped back to an alcove a little further back from where she was to regain her mana. That pig had barely touched her, and she was in a boatload of pain. She needed to make sure the remaining boars did not get close to her. With her injury, it would be difficult to dodge. When she made it to the alcove, Rasmus landed on the hedge above her. ¡°Do you need me to take you out of here, little one?¡± ¡°No, I am too close to stop now. Just give me a few hours to rest, and I can make it through the remaining animals. The juveniles are both injured, and only two adults are remaining.¡± ¡°Very well, I will be close at hand if you need me.¡± Her stomach was rumbling from lack of food while she waited for her mana to regenerate. She used Water Manipulation to condense water out of the air to stay hydrated. The knowledge that this was her last hurdle kept her motivated to keep going. All she needed to do was get past the last four animals, and the remainder of the maze was a simple walk. Well, she would be able to hobble out without any more distractions anyway. While she rested, she thought of ways to eliminate the remaining animals in the clearing. Getting near them was ill-advised, so she needed to develop a way to control the crowd from a distance. There were several contingency plans she came up with while she waited for every scenario she could think of. Her main concern was the big guy, but it could also spell her doom if she let a juvenile near her. Using Ice Shards did not cost very much mana while she held it in her hand, so she practiced manipulating different shapes for the spell. She was able to split the shards into two projectiles, and she was also able to double the size of the shard if she focused on adding more mana. Two missiles would be good if she had grouped up targets and did not mind where they hit. She hoped that the larger shard would cause more damage. It was a little past noon when she had recovered her mana and was ready to attack once more. Her health also regenerated enough that the bruise she had still hurt quite a bit, but she could gingerly put weight on her leg. She would not be winning any dodgeball games, but she could run if she had to for a short distance. She cloaked herself at the mouth of the clearing to line up her shots. The big guy was her priority. She knew it would take quite a bit to kill him, so she decided to shoot off two large shards at his front legs to disable his movement. As soon as the gigantic boar was in position, she shot her first shot off at his front left leg and quickly followed it up with a shot to his front right leg. Her first shard hit perfectly, but he had jerked, and the second shot missed him completely. The other three boars in the clearing began to charge at her location. She had hoped that staying invisible would buy her some time, but that did not seem to be the case. She shot one shard each into the heads of the juvenile pigs and was able to shoot another projectile at the remaining adult¡¯s front leg before it was too close. If not completely dead, the juveniles were down for the count, so she needed to kite the remaining adult boars. Shooting them in the leg slowed them down slightly, so she aimed for the opposite leg before she turned to run. Her leg was killing her. She had misjudged how healed her leg was, and now it was agony to put too much weight on. Thankfully, she partially managed to disable the more petite adult, so she was able to turn around again to shoot more shards off. The large male was only eight feet from her when she managed to disable his other front leg. Even with their legs injured, the pigs were not down for the count. She continued to shoot at their legs to buy herself more breathing room. Once she could disable three of their legs, they stopped moving closer to her, and she could whittle their health down. The big guy had gotten three feet from her before she could scramble away from him. After ensuring there were no remaining threats, she sank to the ground and began to cry. Her leg hurt, she was hungry, and she just had several large animals trying to kill her. She knew she was mentally an adult, but she was still in the body of a child, and hormones must have been messing with her mind. Killing others was not and probably never would be something she enjoyed doing. It was something she would only do to protect herself if the person was sapient. Going forward, she made a promise to herself not to kill animals unless she planned on eating them or they were trying to kill her. She hobbled out of the labyrinth around four in the afternoon. As she was waiting for Rasmus to collect her, she heard the same loud breathing that she had heard last night on the other side of the hedge. To feed her curiosity, she summoned her illusionary bird to peek over the wall. Oddly, there was nothing on the other side of the barrier from her, even though breathing could still be heard. She flew lower to the ground and realized what she had assumed was a large extension of the hedge was a giant bear. It blended perfectly into its surroundings from above. If she had been any slower leaving the maze, it would have caught up to her. It was four times the size of the enormous boar she had fought. She was very thankful to have unknowingly slipped past it. Chapter 37 - Etching Rasmus did not make her wait long to fly her back to the aviary. He let her know that he had been keeping an eye on the gigantic hedge bear. If it had gotten too close to her, he would have warned her. He said he did not realize such a creature made a home in the maze until it was already too late. She was allowed to ride on his back on the way back, and they were able to have a delightful discussion. He and Avery were able to communicate mentally through the mating bond that they shared. There was a range on how far the bond would stretch, but he was not willing to elaborate on how far that range was. When she asked if humans received that, he only knew of it happening for sapient animals. He then teased her a little and told her to find a mate so he could experiment on them to find out if it was possible for humans. Rasmus had Air and Illusion for his schools of magic. With some prodding, he agreed to show her a few tricks he had learned over the years. She would need to get to a minimum of tier two in Illusion before he could teach her anything interesting. Hearing this made her even more motivated to finish getting her Illusion magic to 100%. When they returned, there was a feast of fruit and cooked meat waiting for her. Violet was so hungry she did not even think to question what kind of meat she was eating until it was already in her stomach. Avery laughed when she asked about it. Thankfully it was from a domesticated cow-like animal that one of her delivery birds traded for. The delivery birds that lived in the aviary were well known throughout the Queendom. They were known as sapient beings and were allowed to trade within the country whenever they liked. Violet was happy to hear they had also procured a large amount of jerky to supplement her meals. ¡°Now that you have passed the test, I believe we can cancel the Companionship Contract. You will be my student and may come and go as you please. I sent a letter to your parents to let them know to expect to see you four times a year.¡± Avery had said when she had finished her meal. ¡°I would like to see them and let them know I am ok. When can I send a letter to tell my parents I am coming?¡± ¡°You can leave at any time, dearie. Rasmus said he would be happy to fly you near the city. He can use Cloaking to hide his presence. Keeping our existence a secret saves us so many silly headaches.¡± ¡°Thank you! I have missed them quite a bit. I¡¯ll write them a letter to let them know to expect me in two weeks.¡± ¡°In the meantime, let us work on your synchronizations, and I¡¯ll see what I can do about guiding you through learning Etching the hard way. I will need to call on a friend with Water magic so she can show you how it is done.¡±
The friend Avery knew with Water magic was a cute little miniature river otter that could not have weighed more than twenty pounds. Her name was Tilly, and she had a high-pitched squeaking voice. She had black fur everywhere except the tips of her ears which were a dark blue. It was difficult for Violet to keep up with her to interpret her fast, squeaking voice. Avery had asked Violet to use her Water Manipulation to fill a bowl created from stone. The bowl was five feet across and two feet deep. While it was humid, Violet could only fill the bowl halfway before she ran out of mana. When Rasmus had flown in with her this morning, Tilly had filled the bowl the rest of the way. Once she had completed that, she turned to look at Violet. ¡°Let¡¯s have a look, yes, let¡¯s have a look. Yes, I see you found a human youngling, Ms. Avery. Yes, she is quite small, still only four feet tall, and quite skinny. Does she get her blonde fur coloring from her parents? Oh, yes, look at those lovely purple eyes.¡± Violet was at a loss for words. The otter was talking about her like she wasn¡¯t even there. Violet thought that Tilly was not trying to be rude. It was just because she did not interact with humans often. It was difficult for Violet not to pet the cute creature. After the initial pleasantries were out of the way, Tilly had Violet sit in the water with her while she demonstrated each of the Water aspects. It turned out that Tilly was referred to as a pure mage because she only had one school of magic and could pick up every aspect for Water. Ordinary people without the limitless trait could pick up nine aspects total between the two schools of magic. Most people only ever received aspects from the first two rows of difficulty. Each aspect test was tailored to the individual based on their life goals or talents. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The test Tilly had taken to receive her aspects involved searching a large lagoon for pieces of aspects. Her first three aspects were able to be completed without a timer. Once she obtained access to the moderate difficulty pieces, she had to collect them on a timer. For the final difficulty, the time she needed to collect the items in was reduced. The parts were also harder for her to find. She said people were expected to use their previously unlocked aspects to help unlock the more complex difficulties. Jumping row difficulties like Violet had done was unheard of and explained as a quirk in the system because she did not have any limits. Reaching for the more complex aspects before she was ready could cause them to be more challenging to obtain. To help Violet learn Etching, Tilly first needed to teach her how to see spells. To learn this, she needed to focus on someone else while they were casting using her peripheral vision. It was difficult for her to focus on something not in her direct line of sight, but she had gotten the hang of it reasonably quickly. Tilly said it was a basic skill, so she was not surprised it did not take long to learn. [Skill gained: Spell Vision 1] As soon as she gained the skill, Violet was able to see the shape of the spell Tilly was holding in her paws. They spent the next week leveling the skill until it was at eleven, and she was able to look at spells directly. It was a skill that Violet would now be able to level on her own using her direct vision. At higher skill levels, the color would change based on which school of magic it was cast from. Using Spell Vision to watch Tilly¡¯s cast, she understood why it would be nearly impossible for people to learn aspects without a teacher. When an aspect was invoked, a complicated spell form was created subconsciously. In the case of Etching, she needed to shape mana in the form of the Runic Language¡¯s symbol for it. While she was maintaining the mark, several other runes were drawn around it. Knowing the Runic Language helped Violet quite a bit, but it was not enough just to read the spell form. She also needed to shape her mana to match the symbols. As Tilly pointed out, the words around the mark changed based on how the aspect was used. Thankfully all she needed to do to unlock Etching was master one of the spell forms. They decided to have Violet learn the form to etch stone because of the availability of rock in this area. After several days of forcing her mana into the correct spell form, she received an unexpected skill. She was a little disgruntled that they had not told her about this skill yet because of how useful it would be. When she asked, they told her it was a skill that not everyone could obtain, and she had the best chances of succeeding if she did not know about it beforehand. [Skill gained: Mana Manipulation 1]
Violet used Visualization to memorize one of the spell forms for each of the Water aspects while Tilly was helping her. She was warned that it would be nearly impossible for her to gain aspects in this way if she had not already failed to receive them through her mindscape. It brought up something that had been bothering her for quite a while now. ¡°How do people gain aspects and schools of magic without access to ancient enchanted crystals?¡± ¡°There are a few ways, yes. Yes, the most common way is having all of your current aspects at 100% synchronization. Yes, when this happens, the system gives you a prompt asking if you would like to enter the mindscape. Yes, yes, most people use this method. The other method is to have an affinity for an aspect or school of magic. My people are often born with Water magic, and the aspect for waterbreathing comes unlocked from birth. Yes, this is due to genetics. Some are born with the ability.¡± ¡°The crystal just helps you unlock aspects earlier?¡± ¡°Oh yes, yes. The crystal can also unlock dormant magic, which is nearly impossible to do without it.¡± Avery added her two cents and said, ¡°Don''t mix up ancient magic with the watered-down stuff the other races are using nowadays, dearie. Anyone can study long enough to learn the simple spell forms used in modern magic. Affinity helps, but it is not required to cast a modern spell.¡± ¡°How is the modern magic watered down?¡± Violet asked. ¡°It is all about how much power you get for your mana. You cannot level up a modern-day spell. It will hit just as hard the first time you cast it or the hundredth time you cast it.¡± They had spoken at length about the differences between the two types of magic. An example that made things clearer for her was the Nature magic aspect for Create Food. For ancient magic users, all that would be required to learn how to create food would be an intimate knowledge of each ingredient used. Once that knowledge was gained, the caster could conjure complete meals until they ran out of mana. The mana cost depended on complexity and how highly the user had their Create Food leveled up. If you wanted to duplicate the same feat with modern magic, the best the caster would be able to do would be to conjure base ingredients. Fruit and vegetables were the spells most commonly learned, and conjuring food this way was very mana intensive. Most modern magicians were required to carry a large spellbook to cast more than a few spells.
It had taken a little over a week for her to receive a response from her parents. They had needed extra time to secure the proper paperwork for her to enter the city. Her mother had included a beautiful purple dress and a pair of sock-like shoes in the parcel. The enclosed note gave her directions to the house they were staying at in the city of Lindow. Chapter 38 - Lindow Rasmus was happy to carry her to Lindow and enjoyed himself playing a tour guide. Kasmaya was known for its trees and its rivers. From above, Violet could see four different rivers that converged at various points to create one massive river out to the sea. There were several smaller towns along each of the rivers that they flew over along the way. Kasmayans have harnessed the use of the river to power their sawmills. According to Rasmus, they also had facilities for grinding wheat to make flour. One thing each city had in common was they all had a fence of some sort. The larger communities had stone walls, while the smaller ones had walls made from timber. The reason for this was twofold. First, it was to keep the beasts from the forest out, and second, it was for protection from other sapients. Kasmaya and Astresh have been at war with each other on and off since they were formed. Rasmus did not know the original reason for the conflict. It had gone on for so many generations; it was a way of life for them now. Astresh was home to the shorter races, while Kasmaya was a nation of not so vertically challenged people. Both countries would accept all races, but there was distrust between them that caused hard feelings. When they reached Lindow, Rasmus flew a large circle around the city to see it from above. Lindow was the third-largest city in Kasmaya, with a population of more than one hundred thousand people. The town was a large square separated by three inner walls. The river was diverted and used as a moat stretching twenty feet across, forcing people to use four bridges to enter the city. Each entrance had two guard towers ready to defend and repel invaders. Rasmus let her off an hour¡¯s walk from the entry bridge into the city. She would be spending the next week with her parents, and then she would meet him in the same place when it was time for her to return. He had chosen to drop her off in a clearing about ten minutes inside the treeline. The city was broken into nine different sections. The outer four sections were broken down by each race with a Human, Centaur, Elven, and Beastkin quarter. The inner four squares were broken into the Crafting guilds, the University, the Church quarter, and the Magic Square. At the very center of the city were several large estates for the nobles and the duke. Violet approached the city from the eastern wall to enter through the gate closest to the Human and Beastkin section of the city. She had never seen a Beastkin before and couldn¡¯t keep herself from staring at the man with a bushy fox tail she had followed to enter the gate. When they stopped to wait their turn to get into the city, Violet noticed that he was entirely covered in fur and had the ears of a fox on his head. From afar, she would have mistaken him as human based on his form. The guard at the gate didn¡¯t give her any problems after presenting the papers her parents had provided. He was even kind enough to give her directions to the square where she would meet her parents. Each of the quarters had several meeting squares for vendors to sell their wares and for people to meet. In addition to vendors set up at tables, physical stores were around the edges of the square. It was not hard for her to find her parents. They were standing in the very center of the square next to a large fountain. When they saw her, they immediately ran toward her. She was lifted into a massive hug with both of her parents on either side of her. Her mother was in tears when she started to speak. ¡°When the messenger bird found us, we were so happy to hear you were still alive! Come, you must eat. There is a lovely restaurant right around the corner.¡± Over lunch, she recited an edited story of what happened after her flight with the bird. They had decided to let her parents believe that her new mentor scared the kidnapping bird away with a show of magic. Her new mentor valued her privacy, so Violet could not even say her name. She did not mention the challenge at all to her parents. It was over, and she did not have to do it again, so she didn¡¯t want to make them worry. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°This mentor is rather old, you say?¡± Her father asked. ¡°She never would tell me exactly how old she was. What is great is that she has knowledge of ancient magics, and she was able to confirm that is what I have.¡± ¡°We looked into finding you a magic tutor here in Lindow, but unfortunately, only nobles can afford a private tutor, and attending classes in the Magic Square requires a yearly tuition that is quite high and an aptitude test.¡± Her mother said. Her parents were not completely lost when it came to using physical coins for goods and services. They were both well-read, and traders from other countries did come by to sell their goods in select cities in the Chromatic Dominion. The currency system had taken them a little bit to get used to, but they had been here long enough it was no longer an issue for them. ¡°When we arrived here, Agnes, the lady we are living with, was able to help us find employment. She found me a job with her grandson working in a carpentry shop, and she was able to pull some strings for your mother to find work in one of the University libraries.¡± ¡°I love having access to so many books! I need to help students find what they are looking for and put away any books after reading them. With so many trees, paper is an abundant commodity in Kasmaya.¡± The lady, her parents, were staying with was the nosiest woman she had ever met. Agnes made a point to quiz Violet on every detail of her life the whole time she was staying with her parents. It had gotten to the point where Violet started to hide from the old lady just to find peace. Agnes did not like that she was unwilling to name her magic mentor nor where she was staying. During the ten-day week that Violet was in Lindow, she shadowed both of her parents to work for two days each. For the other six days, she found herself wandering around the different squares listening to gossip while waiting for her parents to be off work. The most common thing for people to gossip about was, of course, their neighbors and the romances they were involved in. Violet just rolled her eyes and continued to walk when she overheard such things. The next most common thing she heard about was Astresh and how war season was coming up. Kasmaya and Astresh had agreed to only attack each other during the spring and summer months. There was still a token guard force throughout the fall and winter seasons, but they rarely saw any action. Asking a random person talking about it only earned her a frown and an order to go to the library and learn independently. Then she was asked what she was doing out of school. Children in Kasmaya were all required to attend school from the age of five until they turned sixteen. They either found a profession with an apprenticeship or were enlisted in the military at age sixteen. The only way to avoid enlistment was to find an internship, attend the university, or attend the magic academy. Apprenticeships were highly sought after, and both the university and academy required a tuition fee. Military enlistment was a confusing process. Instead of a set amount of years that you had to serve, you needed to either achieve a set amount of prestige or wait until enough people were joining to replace you. If losses from the war were high, it could take up to ten years to retire from the military without prestige points. As happy as she was to see her parents, she was ready to leave once the week was over. Magic was not allowed within the walls except inside the magic quarter, so she was not even allowed to practice her magic while she was there. It took quite a bit of arguing with her parents, but she could compromise with them. They wanted to walk with her the entire way to her meeting place with Rasmus. The compromise they came to was that they would walk with her until she reached the trees and cloaked herself the rest of the way to the clearing. They were worried about her safety. Once she reached the clearing, Rasmus uncloaked himself long enough for her to climb on his back before taking off again. She knew these visits would become more difficult as time went on. It would not surprise her to hear Agnes was a person put in place to spy on the foreigners, and the next time she visited, someone may try to follow her into the trees. Chapter 39 - Illusion Mastery Three months after completing the challenge, Violet finally got her Illusion mastery up to 100%. Avery¡¯s friend was able to deliver a batch of special paper that could be used for contracts. Violet quickly brought her synchronization up to 100% not long after receiving the paper. The contracts she wrote were beneficial and relatively harmless. Anyone who signed the contract was agreeing to tell the whole truth for the following ten minutes. The agreement did not force someone to say anything. It only stated that what they said would be the truth as far as the person knew it. Someone could still give false information if they were misinformed. When Violet reached 100% synchronization, it was like a missing piece snapped together in her mind. All of the aspects she had been leveling were all pieces of the same whole. Illusion magic was about bending the light and tricking the mind. She had only scratched the surface of what could be possible with Illusion.
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 1% Tier 2 (9A) - Novice
Water 39%
Water 77% Create Water
Water 55% Etching
Water 100% Ice Shards
Water 100% Water Manipulation
Water 18% Waterbreathing
¡°Congratulations, Violet! You have just barely turned eight years old, and already you have made it to the Novice tier of magic. Oh, dearie, I am so proud of you!¡± ¡°But I don''t understand. Where did all of the aspects go? It doesn¡¯t feel like I have lost them, but they are no longer on my magic sheet.¡± ¡°Honey, you don''t need some silly system to tell you what you already know. Do you see the little (9A) at the end? That means you are tier two with nine aspects. You can always click on Illusion on your sheet for a detailed list of your aspects. Those who don''t receive all aspects cannot do certain things and are always weaker than purists.¡± ¡°How do I get to tier three?¡± ¡°Oh, dearie, that is easy, just time-consuming. You have to use your magic in new and creative ways. Why don''t you try something simple? Use your Disguise Self aspect to disguise the ground in front of you to look like fine marble. Don''t even tell me you can¡¯t do it unless you have tried. The training wheels have come off, my dear.¡± It took her around a half-hour before she could apply the theory for Disguise Self and apply it to the ground in front of her. She started by making her hand look like marble and trying to spread out onto the floor. After a few attempts like this, Avery had taken pity on her and gave her a hint. ¡°How would you make your Decoy look like marble? Maybe try combining them for what you desire.¡± Just thinking of combining the aspects was all she needed to change the floor to appear like marble. After checking her magic screen after accomplishing this feat, she was enthused and saddened that she had only gained 1%, bringing her total up to 2%. Avery did say it would be a time-consuming process. ¡°Tier two gives you the ability to combine two aspects to create a spell. At three, you can combine three, and at four, you can combine as many as you like and are considered a master. Don''t get me wrong, you will never stop learning. It takes so much to raise your percentage at that level that nobody that I know of ever has. Even I don''t have my mastery percentages very high, and I have been using magic for centuries.¡± ¡°Have you been trying to create new spells all this time?¡± ¡°Oh no, dearie, after a while, you just accept what you have and only bother to create new spells if you come across a new problem. My percentages would be higher if I dedicated my life to research.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Once I raise water magic to tier two, can I combine an aspect for water with an aspect for illusion?¡± ¡°It can be done, but it is more challenging to find synergy between the aspects.¡± Violet took time away from her usual training routine to study her new Illusion ability. When she examined what she was doing with Spell Vision, the combined aspects created a complex spell form. Disguise Self was still large, and in the center, an extra row around the circle was dedicated to Decoy. Using an extra aspect created an additional degree of difficulty. While the system automatically made the extra row for her, she wanted to eventually study each rune in detail to understand the spell form more completely. While she could read each word because it was written in Runic, she did not understand why one word was used over another. She believed understanding the differences could help her unlock new spells and ideas.
Violet¡¯s overall Water synchronization finally was at 49%. She had been working hard to gain aspect synchronization over the past few months.
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 11% Tier 2 (9A) - Novice
Water 49%
Water 22% Cleanse
Water 100% Create Water
Water 72% Etching
Water 100% Ice Shards
Water 10% Sense Water
Water 100% Water Manipulation
Water 34% Waterbreathing
She felt a little let down when she received Create Water. The aspect made the creation of water almost effortless. She had already been using Water Manipulation to condense the water from the air and felt it was a redundant aspect. Avery had ordered her to pick it up once she learned of Violet¡¯s plan to avoid the aspect until last. She would have likely failed to pick up the more complex aspects if she had not picked it up. The next aspect she picked up was Waterbreathing. It was not quite what she was expecting the spell to be. Rather than filling her lungs with water and being able to breathe, Waterbreathing placed a filter on her nose that only allowed her to breathe in air while she was underwater. She could also create a filter for her mouth to do the same function, but it cost more mana and ultimately did the same thing. Sense Water was the next aspect that she received. This aspect required her to travel to gain synchronization. Rasmus couldn¡¯t help her cheese the aspect by flying her around everywhere. She needed to be close to sources of water initially to be able to sense them. After gaining 25% synchronization, Tilly said it would be easier to raise because her range would increase. At that point, she would also be able to sense water in the ground if it was close enough to dig a well. The three high difficulty aspects for water were Acid Blast, Cleanse, and Shield. She did not have to consider which aspect to obtain first for very long. Cleanse was something she had been hoping to have for a very long time. With cleanse, all she needed was to picture something in pristine condition, and all impurities would drop to the ground. There were limits on what she could clean. She could not all of a sudden ¡°cleanse¡± a stone and only leave gold behind. Using Cleanse on her clothing did not repair anything. It only removed dirt and grime from it. After receiving the aspect, she had used Cleanse on one of her spare sets of clothing. It was almost as if the aspect was made for this purpose. Her dress was spotless, and a pile of dirt materialized right next to it. Unfortunately, using cleanse on the accumulation of dirt did not make it disappear. She was forced to use a broom to sweep it away. Tilly was able to explain how Cleanse worked a little bit better for her. The aspect worked off of the user¡¯s perception. If she were to clean a sheet of paper, she could remove the ink or only remove certain words or imperfections. Violet needed to train herself to choose what about something was necessary to be cleaned. When she had asked about using Cleanse to clean an infected wound, the answer was complicated. The short answer was unless she understood her goal completely, don''t try it. Violet would need to completely understand what healthy was before she could restore it and remove impurities. She would be more likely to hurt someone instead of helping them by using cleanse on them.
¡°Avery, is there a way to turn off the randomization feature that happens when I gain a new school of magic?¡± ¡°Randomization? What on Zogara are you speaking of, child?¡± ¡°My magic was dormant before I found an ancient crystal to unlock it. I did not know what was happening at the time and refused to choose a color when I was prompted. When that happened, fate chose my magic for me. When I received my second magic, I was not given a choice, and a random school of magic was chosen for me a second time. How do I stop that from happening a third time?¡± ¡°Oh dearie, you were lucky to get an option the first time around. It is a shame you wasted it with indecision. I did not choose my second magic to be Earth. We are given the option to accept what we are offered or remain a purist with only a single school of magic. It is widely believed that fate decides what would work best for us.¡± ¡°I should be able to choose another school of magic soon. My synchronization is at 49%. Hopefully, fate will be kind to me and give me a good school of magic.¡± ¡°Honey, there is no such thing as a bad school of magic. It is all about perspective.¡± Chapter 40 - New School of Magic Violet was still at 49% synchronization with Water the following day. She was constantly checking her magic sheet to see if she was high enough for her third magic. It annoyed her that there weren¡¯t any pop-up notices about gained synchronization. When she mentioned this to Avery, the cheeky bird asked her why she did not have the setting flipped on if she wanted to see them. Sure enough, when Violet tried to open her settings menu, a new screen popped up. It annoyed her to no end that there was no easy way to tell the settings menu even existed. There was an option to add sound to her notifications and the usual pop-up notices she received. The customization on this list was enormous. For now, she chose to receive notifications for when her overall Water synchronization hit 50%, 56%, and 64%. Those were the remaining milestones she needed to achieve. [Synchronization increased: Water 50%] Avery was just as giddy as Violet was to gain her third magic school. ¡°This is history in the making! I have never heard of someone having more than two schools of magic.¡± Greetings, Ancient One. Are you ready to decide your next type of magic? Y/N? It did not take her long to click yes. The wheel of colors popped into her vision once again. She had resigned herself to trusting fate to choose for her. In her mind, she would eventually have every school of magic. If she did not receive the one she thought she needed this time, she would eventually get it. She had made a point not to even think about which school of magic she wanted so she could not be disappointed. Of course, Violet had magic she wanted over others still, but she would accept what she was given with an open mind. Fate smiles upon you. Spatial shall be yours. That one line just made her the happiest person on earth. After magic lessons with Avery, she realized just how powerful and valuable Spatial magic would be for her. Spatial was the domain of both time and space. She now had the magic to eventually teleport, create portals, and tell the future with divination. It was the magic she had secretly been hoping for. Her mindscape had changed. There were no plots for her to dig up aspects. The ground itself seemed to be missing as well. She was floating in a void with nothing around. There were stars in the distance and a humanoid floating next to her. Now she knew the mindscape was created from her mind. The humanoid floating next to her had a faint outline of blue over constellations for each of his joints. The figure was around six feet tall and looked like something she had once dreamed about. She decided to give him the nickname Lonny when she referred to him in her head. After studying him for a little while, she started to wonder why she was so calm. She was floating in a void next to a strange constellation man. Ordinary people would be freaking out about this point. In her minds-eye, this was exactly how she pictured space magic to be, so maybe that was why she was seemingly okay with this situation? ¡°Greetings Violet, I will be your guide to receiving spatial aspects. Be aware I have limited answers I can supply, and they are all about your quest for aspects. Before we begin, do you have any general questions?¡± ¡°Why am I so calm?¡± ¡°You are inside your mind. What do you have to be afraid of?¡± ¡°How do I leave?¡± ¡°If you leave now, you will forfeit Spatial magic and have to gain it on your own. Do you wish to leave?¡± ¡°NO! I mean, please proceed with the challenge.¡± ¡°Very well, your first aspect will be Telekinesis. I will give you a simple logic grid puzzle that you will need to solve to use this aspect while inside this space. For you to gain the aspect permanently, you will need to solve the first puzzle and then use it to solve a harder puzzle.¡± A table with the grid carved onto it appeared before her. Red and green markers were provided for her to use off to one side. Her job was to work through the clues and find the answer. Which boy was associated with each flavor and color? It was a simple puzzle aimed to get her feet wet. After putting the green markers in the correct boxes, she signaled she was done, and her star man came over to check her answers. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Congratulations, you have earned the provisional usage of Telekinesis.¡± After her answers were deemed correct, the table disappeared and a gigantic grid formed in the distance. The new grid had three categories on each side for a total of four things to keep track of. Each category had four lines instead of the three she had for the simple puzzle to complicate things further. An illusionary paper filled with nine clues floated next to her. ¡°This puzzle can be solved with the clues provided. You may request an additional clue for a 5% synchronization deduction. Each aspect starts at 11% synchronization. If you answer incorrectly, you will lose 3% synchronization.¡± The clues on the paper required critical thinking on her part. One of the clues was ¡®Zueyr was worshipped the day after Amos and the day before Vyion.¡¯ She opened up her Mental Notes skill and started making notes about what may be the correct answers. She flipped switches with Telekinesis to turn the square red or green depending on facts she could deduce on the large grid. While she was in her Mental Notes, she added a note to herself on the ¡°things to ask Avery¡± tab to ask if she knew how to create and do these types of puzzles. She had a feeling the higher tier aspect challenges would only get harder to solve. Having access to these puzzles on a routine basis would help her gain mental stats too. When she felt she had completed the puzzle, she took extra time to go over every clue to ensure it was in line with her answer. She felt mentally drained when she was ready to commit to her solutions. There was no excuse for losing synchronization this early. It would not surprise her if a curveball were thrown at her for the higher tier aspects. Lonny floated over to her when she signaled the puzzle as being complete. He nodded his head, and she was kicked out of her mindscape after a prompt flashed. Congratulations, you have received the aspect for Telekinesis with synchronization starting at 11%. To return for more aspects, you must have a total of 8% synchronization for Spatial. She immediately jumped up and started performing a happy dance. ¡°Avery! I received Spatial magic!¡± ¡°That, my dear, is great news! That magic will serve you well. Unfortunately, I do not have any friends with that type of magic, so please be careful when you are in the challenge for new aspects.¡± ¡°Is Spatial magic rare?¡± ¡°Oh no, dearie, certain sapients just have small minds. Anyone found to have spatial magic was hunted down and killed. Unfortunately, this practice still occurs in some countries, so please keep your new mark hidden. Speaking of marks, let me see it!¡± ¡°No fair! Your marks are hidden under your feathers.¡± Violet dropped the illusion on her stomach to reveal the new purple star beside her belly button. ¡°Yep! It looks like you will have a ring around your belly when you¡¯ve received all of your schools of magic. How fortunate for you, honey. Marks often pop up in random places. I once knew a human who had marks on his face.¡± ¡°Wait, back up a little bit. Why are spatial magic users hunted down?¡± ¡°Small-minded people mostly. Prophecies are created with Divination. Kingdoms have been built upon prophecy, and similarly, they have been destroyed by them. The idiots decided if all the prophets were dead, the world would be a better place. I advise you not to share how unique you are with others you do not trust.¡± ¡°My parents have only shared that I can do illusion magic. At your request, I asked them to stop talking about my magic the first time I visited them. Thank you for that warning.¡± The only time her parents had shared anything about her magic was when they were looking for a magic tutor. She wished they had not said anything, but at least they had spoken very little about it. Her brand of magic was not what was taught in magic schools anyway, so they would not have been much help. Her parents were able to find out that being born with an ancient magic mark was extremely rare in Kasmaya. The mark mainly occurred for those of noble blood. Her mother had teased Violet about how easy it would be to find her a husband. The only school in Kasmaya for ancient magic was located in the capital. You were required to have a mark and be sponsored by a noble family to attend that school. Kasmaya revolved around money, and magic-users could make that very easily with their aspects.
Life fell into a routine. Four times a year, Violet would visit her parents in Kasmaya while trying to dodge questions from Agnes. She spent the majority of the time practicing her aspects and talking with Avery. The more aspects she gained, the faster she was able to level her magic synchronization. She jumped up to Tier two in Water magic by the time she had turned eight and a half years old. Avery had fun throwing small stones at her at odd times to level the synchronization for her Shield aspect. Violet could keep a shield of mist around her at all times for next to no mana. The challenge was to create an ice shield or a moving water shield depending on what type of projectile was thrown at her. A fast-moving water shield was easier to produce at a moment¡¯s notice. That type of shield was best used for small and fast projectiles. If something heavy were thrown at her, an ice shield would provide better protection. The other aspect she had picked up for Water magic was Acid Blast. She was a little shocked to learn from Tilly just how many types of acid there were. All varieties were deadly, but some worked better for specific situations. The two main acid types she found most helpful were flammable and corrosive. Avery had forbidden her from practicing anything flammable near her nest but was willing to provide her with metal to practice the corrosive form of acid. What Violet found odd about her acid was it never burned her. She had accidentally splashed some on herself not long after receiving the aspect. It ruined the dress Violet was wearing but left her skin pristine. Tilly¡¯s explanation was she could not be burned by something she created. Chapter 41 - Spatial Magic Every time she entered her mindscape to acquire another aspect, she was presented with another logic puzzle. The puzzles for Far Seeing and Void Storage were on par with the one she solved for Telekinesis. When she received Gravity, Shield, and Teleportation, the bar was raised significantly higher. There were still the same amount of things she needed to keep track of but now the clues she received to solve the puzzle were abstract and required her to think things through. For example, in the latest puzzle, one of the clues was ¡®Exactly one bandit has the same initial in the place where he ended his days, and it is in his forename or surname.¡¯ The first aspect she had picked up from Spatial magic was Telekinesis. Even now, with the synchronization being at 100%, she could only lift something twice her weight. The other drawback was the more voluminous the item, the more mana she used. For small things, she did not have to concentrate very much to be able to move them. Her hopes of lifting herself and flying with Telekinesis crashed and burned pretty quickly. If she moved at all (other than breathing) while using Telekinesis, the spell would fail. Avery was unable to fill in very many blanks for her when she had questions about her aspects. The practice of killing Spatial mages had started long before she had been born. She could fill in a few blanks for her, but Violet would have to learn about her aspects through trial and error. Thankfully she had a whole generation of theories to draw from with her previous life¡¯s world.
When she acquired her second aspect, she was shocked when she was not given a choice on which aspect to pick up. Her star man had informed her that she would be acquiring them in a preordained order. She was always excited to pick up new aspects. All this did was save her from agonizing over which one to pick up next. The second aspect she picked up was Far Seeing. With that aspect, she could focus on a point far in the distance and zoom in. She felt like she was using a stationary set of binoculars. Whenever she tried to move her view, she was forced out of her spell and had to refocus on a new area. Once she had gotten her synchronization up past 25%, she was able to pan her view back and forth very slowly. As her skill level grew, she could use her starting point as an anchor and view everything as if she were standing in that spot for three hundred sixty degrees. She almost felt like it was a vision-only form of astral projection. Her latest breakthrough with this skill was using the anchor from her first spell to jump to a second point. It was disorienting to jump the second time, and it chewed through her mana quickly. While she could use her Illusion magic to see through the Decoy¡¯s eyes, she was limited to her normal vision without a zoom feature. Her Decoy also still had a limitation on how far away from Violet it could get. Far Seeing¡¯s furthest initial anchor point was twice the distance away from her Decoy¡¯s limit.
Violet was extremely shocked when she received Void Storage. She had expected an aspect like that to be considered high-level spatial magic. The catch to using Void Storage was it permanently tied up a portion of her mana pool. Her total mana was 1080, which was rather large for someone her age. When she placed a ten-pound brick in her storage, she was reduced to a maximum of 945. Placing an item in her Void Storage created a new menu on her status screen. Rather than words, the menu was composed of pictures. She could focus on the image to gain a small amount of knowledge about that item. The information was limited to what she already knew about the object. For example, placing a ten-pound brick of sandstone in her storage would give her the following information.
Sandstone Brick 10 lbs 135 mana
Durable natural stone comprised of mineral grains like quartz and feldspar.
If she placed an item she did not know about in her storage, it would only have the top section filled out with ¡®Unknown Item¡¯ as a description. The cost of storing an item was steadily decreasing as she leveled the aspect synchronization. Based on her calculations, once she got to 100% synchronization, she would be able to store up to twice her body weight for her entire mana pool. Needless to say, being without any available mana to cast with would not be ideal. ¡°Avery, have any of the spatial mages you have met been fat?¡± She would not be surprised if ancient spatial magicians were a bit on the heavier side to help with Telekinesis and Void Storage. ¡°Of course, some have been fat, I have not met all that many, but people come in all shapes and sizes, dearie.¡± ¡°Did the extra weight help them with their Void Storage and Telekinesis limits? Mine seems based on my weight.¡± After a fit of laughter, Avery responded with, ¡°Where do all these silly ideas come from, child? The system bases those skills off of ideal weight. Adult spatial mages can lift a maximum of four hundred pounds.¡± ¡°Two hundred pounds is far from the ideal weight for most women. Where are you getting these numbers, silly bird?¡± ¡°Silly bird indeed. I think it is time for you to practice your water shields once again. I know a cheeky girl that needs things thrown at her. To answer your question, scholars have been debating where the limit originated from for ages. Be thankful you will be considered an adult when your system unlocks.¡±
Gravity was an enjoyable aspect to study. Violet¡¯s current limitation, at 52%, was that she needed to touch or hold the object she cast a spell on. The minimum reduction in Gravity she could produce was 1% of the object¡¯s overall weight. If the item was already light, it was easier to do. She was still playing with her maximum increase, but she estimated the maximum to be around quadruple the weight of an object. In both circumstances, making it lighter or heavier, the larger she manipulated, the more mana it took. When Violet had first received the aspect for Gravity, Avery was quick to set ground rules she must follow. ¡°Girlie, I¡¯ve grown too fond of you to see you turn yourself into a pancake. DO NOT use Gravity on yourself or any other sentient being until I have given you my approval.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Violet was quite happy for Avery¡¯s warning after she had turned a brick to sand. The pressure exerted on the brick caused it to crack and then crumble. She had not applied the aspect evenly to the brick and disaster struck. ¡°When your synchronization has risen high enough, you will be able to apply the aspect to the air. If done correctly, it will immobilize an enemy or slow a projectile. We will need to work on your concentration.¡±
The next aspect Violet acquired was Shield. She was pretty upset when she initially heard this because she already had a shield with water magic. With clarification from Avery, she realized the shields do different things. The protection she received with water magic was for physical defense. Her new spatial shield was useful for magical and mental defense. Initially, Avery was unsure of how to help her gain synchronization with her new shield type. Rasmus came to the rescue. She was not quite sure it was a rescue after being Hypnotized and told to jump on one foot for the umpteenth time, but eventually, they started to make progress. ¡°Eventually, you will be able to see through any illusions with your shield up. If you ever plan on going back to other ancient ruins, you need to have this ability. Not all of the ruins were school and research facilities. The ruin we are in now was an out-of-the-way religious building. When we feel you can protect yourself, Avery can show you the way into the facility below us.¡± ¡°You don''t know what is down there?¡± ¡°We are not tomb raiders. Besides, we would have to tear the place apart just to fit down there.¡± ¡°You think there are tombs down there?¡± ¡°Some of the smaller buildings that are rubble now had tombs in them at one time. Our theory is this facility was a burial ground of some sort.¡±
After reaching 40% synchronization with spatial magic, she received the aspect for Teleportation. Avery was quick to caution her against using it without testing on inanimate objects first. Her feathered teachers weren¡¯t much help with this aspect. ¡°Spatial mages in captivity were always slain before they could reach their Teleportation aspect. Very little is known about it other than a mage with that aspect is nearly impossible to keep caged for very long.¡± Not wanting a repeat of what happened to the brick while she was practicing her Gravity spells, Violet decided to take this one slow. Her first vict¡­ err test object was another brick. With Avery around, there was never a shortage of bricks. The good news was, some of the brick made it to the place she was trying to teleport it. The bad news was, only SOME of it made it. She planned to start with small objects and work her way up to test mice. Avery had a whole colony of large rodents she was keeping in a box. The eggs were due to hatch sometime around Violet¡¯s birthday. She couldn¡¯t think of any better way to celebrate her ninth year in this world. The following month of waiting was going to be exciting.
Level 23
Age 9
Experience (17720/27600)
Health 400/400
Mana 1080/1080
Stat Points 110
Skill Points 4
Strength 32
Constitution 40
Dexterity 35
Intelligence 110
Wisdom 108
[Contracts] [Magic] [Skills] [Storage] [Traits]
[Basic Skills]
Acting 44
Climbing 50
Cooking 32
Drawing 22
Language - Astrish MAX
Language - Common MAX
Language - Imperial MAX
Language - Kasmien MAX
Mathematics 50
Meditation 41
Running 50
Sewing 20
Spell Vision 60
Swimming 30
Whittling 20
Writing 40
[Novice Skills]
Mana Manipulation 30
Mana Regeneration 40
Sneak 32
Translation 20
Visualization 40
[Advanced Skills]
Language - Runic MAX
Mental Notes 40
Pathfinding 10
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 27% Tier 2 (9A) - Novice
Water 5% Tier 2 (9A) - Novice
Spatial 41%
Spatial 97% Far Seeing
Spatial 56% Gravity
Spatial 32% Shield
Spatial 100% Telekinesis
Spatial 11% Teleportation
Spatial 68% Void Storage
Chapter 42 - Chicks While they were waiting for the babies to hatch, Avery continued to push Violet to grow with her magic. ¡°Repetition is not good enough, dearie. If you want your magic to grow, you need to think of new ways to use your magic.¡± Avery started each morning off with a new scenario for Violet to use her magic to solve. After a while, some scenarios were duplicated. The catch was Violet needed to find another way to solve the problem. They used a giant map that reminded Violet of a gameboard for these scenarios. ¡®You locate some ancient ruins while using your Far Seeing aspect. What problems would you expect to find once you got there, and how would you minimize the threat to yourself any others of your party?¡¯ Lately, Avery had picked up on Violet¡¯s love of all things ancient. Many of her scenarios were geared to protect her in the future. There were many dangers when approaching the ruins of the ancients. Not all of those dangers originated from the buildings. The old buildings made perfect homes for all types of creatures, both sapient and non-sapient. Most of Violet¡¯s afternoons and evenings were dedicated to gaining synchronization with her spatial magic. While she still practiced the other two types of magic she had, they were not quick to level. The more magic types she had, the more options she had to combine aspects. Teleportation ended up having quite a few limitations that she had identified. For example, she could teleport partial items, but nothing happened when she tried to break off a piece of hardened metal. She was finding the same rule of double her weight for teleporting items. She hit her first wall when she attempted to teleport one of the rodents across the room. No matter how much she tried, she could not make the magic work. This same limitation applied to living plants as well. She concluded that her spatial magic did not work on living things. ¡°What good is Teleportation if I can¡¯t use it on anything living?¡± ¡°You can use it on yourself, dearie. Go ahead and try it, just be careful and make sure to cover your whole body with the spell.¡± When she tried to use the aspect on herself, the spell felt like it was meant for this purpose. She focused on a spot not far from where she was standing, and her body blinked into existence in that place. Unfortunately, that short teleport had cost her just under half of her mana. ¡°Why is it so expensive? The objects I¡¯ve been teleporting around are fairly cheap in terms of mana cost.¡± ¡°Honey, I don''t know specifics. Taking a guess, I would say you need to practice. Teleportation was likely created with short distances in mind. If you want to move further than you can physically see, you will need to wait for Portal. That aspect is one a spatial magician will receive last or nearly last.¡± ¡°How far away could I create a Portal?¡± ¡°You can create a Portal anywhere you have previously been and can picture perfectly. The catch to this is, the further away it is, the more mana it will require to make. Ancient mages had a way of sharing their mana with others to create long-distance portals. To keep such a portal open required even more mana for it to remain stable.¡± [Synchronization increased: Spatial 48%] ¡°Avery, could you uncover the crystal, please? I have reached the next threshold for a new aspect.¡± When Violet entered the mindscape, Lonny was missing. A new logic puzzle was placed in its usual spot, but the clues were missing. ¡®Lovely, should I just roll the dice and randomly choose the correct answer? No, the system is forcing me to use my head and my other aspects.¡¯ After going down the list of her spatial abilities, Far Seeing was the most logical one for her to use. Using her Far Seeing aspect, she started to zoom in on the distant stars. She found the first clue on her third cast. The star she had focused on had a slight purple hue to it, distinguishing it from others. If Lonny were here, she would have asked for more information, the number of clues varied from puzzle to puzzle, and she was unsure if she had found them all. Once she was reasonably sure she had solved the grid correctly, she said out loud, ¡°My answers are complete.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Lonny chose that moment to finally materialize long enough for him to wave at her before she was booted from her mindscape. Congratulations, you have received the aspect for Slow Time with synchronization starting at 11%. To return for more aspects, you must have a total of 56% synchronization for Spatial. ¡°Avery, what can you tell me about Slow Time?¡± ¡°Not much, dearie. Time may slow down for you, but it will look like you have sped up to those on the outside. I suggest you practice this aspect while moving or on moving objects.¡± She was about to say more when one of the eggs she was sitting on started to rock. ¡°You may watch, but please do not come near the nest while my eggs are hatching.¡± Rasmus arrived quickly after the first egg began to shake. It was cute watching him fidget and pace. At one point, Avery had to tell him to hold still or leave. Poor Rasmus ducked his head as if he had been beaten. ¡°I don''t know why you are always so nervous. It is nowhere near our first clutch.¡± ¡°You know me, I always worry.¡± Violet was thankful they decided to include her in this momentous occasion. They were speaking out loud for her benefit. Their bond did not require them to share spoken words. All of Rasmus¡¯ worrying was for naught in the end. All four eggs hatched without problems to cute fuzzy-looking chicks. She could not describe the babies as small, mainly due to her perspective. When they hatched, they were already larger than she was! All four of the babies were dominantly yellow, but each sported a second color on their chests. Black, orange, purple, and green were the extra colors. ¡°It is rare that our babies are not born with air mana, as evidenced by their yellow fluff. The second color is the other school of magic they will receive if they choose not to be a purist.¡± Rasmus explained while Avery was feeding their young. ¡°Will you urge your chick with spatial affinity to become a purist?¡± ¡°Ah, I see you have hit the nail on the head. While we will urge her not to pick up the spatial school of magic, it will ultimately be her choice. She would likely not be hunted because it would be her second magic school making it impossible to receive the dreaded Divination. Not all beings are that logical, so it would still be a risk.¡± ¡°Is there a way to track someone who has spatial magic?¡± ¡°There are ancient tools still in existence to track if Divination is being used. Most artifacts have broken over the years, but no doubt a crusade will be launched when you receive that aspect and use it away from here the first time. Fortunately, those ancient tools are no longer mobile, so all they will know is the general direction you are located in. There are powerful wards around the aerie to prevent detection.¡± ¡°I will simply not use Divination outside of the aviary.¡± ¡°Oh child, if only it were that easy. Divination will trigger itself. Time will freeze while you see what you were meant to. Draining your mana to stop the visions will not work. Self-triggered episodes do not cost mana.¡± ¡°So I will turn into a freak that can¡¯t function because of all the futures that will constantly spring themselves on me?¡± ¡°It is my understanding that it is rare for Divination to trigger on its own. The usual cause is to keep its user from certain death.¡±
The chicks grew surprisingly fast. At a month old, their dark brown feathers began to emerge through their thermal down. They were not particularly pretty during this stage of growth. She did not dare mention this observation to their doting parents, not wanting to offend them. Avery did not allow Violet near the nest while her chicks were growing. It was not so much about trust than it was about her not wanting Violet to get hurt. The children had a one-year-old mentality and saw everything moving as their next meal. They were already the size of a baby elephant, so Violet could do naught to defend herself from them. It would take another month for the chicks to develop enough to be safe around. ¡°Will they develop multicolored feathers when they become adults?¡± ¡°They should. It has happened in the past that some chicks have unique coloring. It is rare, and those individuals are often air magic purists.¡± Both Avery and Rasmus (when he was around) could talk for hours on the topic of their babies. The drawback to them having such a long-lived race was clutches were rare. They were only able to reproduce under a specific solar event that happened once every two hundred years. After the eggs were laid, both mother and father needed to infuse the eggs with their mana to ensure magical and healthy babies. This process lasted for two grueling years. During one of her afternoon practice sessions, she received the message she had been waiting for. [Synchronization increased: Spatial 50%] It was time for her to receive another school of magic. Chapter 43 - More Magic Fate smiles upon you. Healing shall be yours. After receiving the healing school of magic, her first thought was, ¡®That will be difficult to level.¡¯ She needed to be able to use an aspect to gain synchronization. Hurting herself on purpose was not an option she wanted to pursue. Perhaps she could learn how to use a sword and heal her practice injuries. The mindscape for healing magic plopped her down just outside of a hospital. Off to one side, a short older lady was waving at her. She had a wrinkled face, snow-white hair, and no teeth. The woman could have been her great-grandmother. Violet slowly approached her and couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°Greetings grandmother, are you here to test me?¡± ¡°Indeed I am, come sit, and I will show you what you need to do to get your first aspect provisionally.¡± On the table in front of her, there were two sheets of paper. Her objective was simple. She needed to point out what was different about each picture on the pieces of paper. There were a total of ten differences that she was to circle with the pen provided. When Violet located the differences, Granny said, ¡°Congratulations, you have earned the provisional usage of Analyze.¡± Four sets of potted plants materialized on the table in front of Violet. Her new mission was to use her Analyze aspect to identify the differences between the plants. Each set had one healthy plant and one that was deformed, dying, or unique. Violet was provided with paper to note a minimum of five differences per pair of plants. Using Analyze for the first time helped to calm her worries about this test. She could see an x-ray image of what she was focusing on. For this difficulty, the differences in the plants were relatively simple for her to identify. Analyze allowed her to zoom in to view multiple layers. It also set a sense she didn¡¯t know she had when she inspected the diseased plant. Her mind gave her a vague idea of how to treat this plant to make it healthy. After going over every pair three times, she let Granny know she was finished with the test. Rather than collecting the sheets of paper from her, the old lady just smiled and waved as Violet was removed from the healing mindscape. Congratulations, you have received the aspect for Analyze with synchronization starting at 11%. To return for more aspects, you must have a total of 8% synchronization for Healing. Violet looked up at Avery and smiled, saying, ¡°Looks like our worst-case scenario happened. I received the healing school of magic. Analyze was my first aspect, so at least I will be able to get a second aspect in healing before I am forced to find people to heal.¡± ¡°It is probably for the best, dearie. You need to start making connections in Kasmaya.¡± ¡°If it is ok with you, I would like to stay until I have reached Tier two with Spatial magic and have a handle on Divination. It scares me to think someone may start hunting me if I use that aspect.¡± ¡°Honey, you can stay as long as you like.¡±
It was surprisingly easy for her to gain synchronization for Analyze. There was no danger involved in its use, and she received experience for every new person or plant she inspected. With the ease in which she gained synchronization, she was able to gain another aspect for healing before spatial magic. The aspect she received was for Lesser Heal. Avery had quite a bit of knowledge about healing magic. It was a well-respected school of magic that everybody wanted to have access to. ¡°Healing magic is quite rare, my dear. Nobody in their right mind would hunt and kill healers. They are naturally rare. Because of this rarity, extensive studies have been done to learn what makes a healer tick.¡± ¡°What conclusions were made from that research?¡± Chuckling a little bit, Avery replied, ¡°Absolutely nothing. Healers come in all personality types, and it does not run in a specific bloodline that they could find. When war caused the loss of several healers, there were no increases in mage births with healing magic in the following years. The rarity of the healing class will open many doors for you.¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
As the chicks grew, she could tell Avery had something on her mind. Her mentor was often seen staring off into space. On one such occasion, Violet asked, ¡°What is bothering you, Avery?¡± ¡°There is no easy way for me to say this. When my babies have grown to the point where they can fly for a few hours straight, my family and I will need to leave. There is a pilgrimage all of our young must undertake to understand our heritage better. We cannot bring you along.¡± ¡°How long do you expect to be gone?¡± ¡°It will likely take several years.¡± ¡°I see. Is there a way to leave me access to the crystal?¡± ¡°Dearie, that thing is ancient and already cracked. I will not leave it unprotected. My children will need the use of that stone. You will need to find another crystal or wait until we return.¡± ¡°How long do you think we have until you need to leave?¡± Violet asked, trying to keep the tears from her eyes. She was mourning the loss of a friend more than the loss of the crystal. It was Avery¡¯s way of pushing her out of the nest and forcing her to make connections in Kasmaya. ¡°I¡¯d reckon they are about two months away from being able to make the journey.¡±
The following two months were spent focusing mainly on spatial magic. Avery was willing to delay their trip until Violet had Divination at 100% synchronization, but it turned out a delay was not needed. Divination was surprisingly easy to level. It was easiest and less mana intensive for her to glimpse into the history of an object. An object was not required to view the past, but it helped. Thankfully, to invoke her Divination aspect, she needed to try consciously. She tested this by thinking about how much she wished to know the history of her dress. Hoping for information was not enough. She needed to concentrate and mentally allocate how much mana she wanted to use while scrying. When she jumped through all of the hoops needed to activate Divination on her dress, she had allocated too much mana to the endeavor. She received a vision of all of the people involved in making her dress. Everyone was in the scrying, from the person who harvested the cotton to her mother sewing the finished product. It was interesting to view the entire process from cotton boll, spinning to weaving, and finally to sewing. It was jarring to use Divination. For Violet, several minutes had gone by, but in the real world, only a heartbeat of time had passed. If she spent time ¡®in the real world¡¯ in contemplation after seeing something, more details would be remembered. She wished she could use this away from the safety of Avery¡¯s wards. Being able to enter an ancient site and see things as they were made her inner archeologist giddy. Violet had only tried to glimpse the future a few times with her Divination aspect. Every time she used it, she would get a confusing mess of possible futures. Her poor dress had several places where different holes could appear. Most of the holes looked from wear and tear, but one unfortunate possible fate had a circular arrow hole appear on her stomach stained with blood. She had no way of knowing how any of the possible futures would occur and that scared her.
It was a tear-filled departure when they were ready for Rasmus to drop her off in Lindow. She had gotten close to Avery over the almost two years of training. It felt like she had been training in the aviary for much longer. ¡°Be sure to send us updates with the messenger birds, dearie. If you are ever in need of help, send off one of your illusionary fireworks, and someone from the aviary will see.¡± ¡°I will. But you must do the same. I want to hear what names the chicks are given. It still seems odd that they will be granted a name instead of you and Rasmus giving them one.¡± ¡°Names have power, dearie. Our kind needs to discover their name through the completion of a trial. Enough about that. I will miss you, young one.¡± The ride to Lindow felt colder than usual. They had waited until the start of the new year before leaving. It would help Violet fit into society better as all students started the new year with different teachers. Violet would have two weeks with her mother as a tutor on what she had missed in school. She was lucky that a lot of her ¡®common sense¡¯ knowledge crossed over to be helpful in this world. Things like math, basic science, and language studies would not be an issue for her. Her mother was going to be tutoring her in Kasmayan history, magic lore, and etiquette. She was not looking forward to etiquette, but if she wanted to join the magic school in town, she needed to learn how to act around nobility. Most of the nobility had magical training as anyone could learn how to use modern magic. Not everyone had the inborn aptitude for magic, and most lacked the drive to learn spells the hard way. Being born with a magical mark was extremely rare and meant someone had access to ancient magic. In Kasmaya, there had been no known commoner births with the mark for decades. For the time being, Violet decided to keep her marks a secret and do damage control with anything her parents may have said about her magic. Chapter 44 - Kasmaya Looking back, Violet was shocked at how fast time went by for her in Kasmaya. It felt like she left the nest only yesterday and began to live with her parents in Lindow. They were not able to stay long in Lindow. When it was clear she was there for more than a visit, a very important-looking man showed up at their door to test her magic. The test was rather anti-climatic. All of the negative consequences Violet had worked up in her head never came to pass. Thankfully the device used to test for magic was rather inept and could only confirm the presence of ancient magic. She was worried the fact she had too many schools of magic would come to light. Thankfully she was able to claim illusion and healing for her two types of magic. When the test had come back conclusive, Violet and her parents were offered the use of a minor estate at the capital. Violet would be attending school with the noble elites until she became eligible to enter the ancient magic school. She needed to be at least fourteen years of age and have her system unlocked to become eligible. Just having ancient magic had prompted the Queen to raise Violet to the rank of a minor noble. Her new status opened quite a few doors for her parents. They both found research positions in the capital and were able to pursue their passions. Her father had fallen in love working with wood and was able to find a job designing new furniture, and her mother had chosen to study the ancient Runic language. It was a source of frustration that Violet was unable to teach her mother Runic. Even writing the language out side by side with common caused issues. The symbols used in Runic were interchangeable depending on what you wanted to say. On more than one occasion, the Runic words changed after being written next to the common translation. Violet had a suspicion that the system was purposely keeping the Runic language away from people. Money was not an issue for them because the crown gave Violet a stipend each month to cover staff wages and immediate expenses until her parents could support her. She had tried refusing the money initially because she did not want to be in debt to the crown. It had taken a visit from crown princess Regina to calm her fears. ¡°I don''t think you realize how special you are. You are what nine? Ten?¡± Regina asked. ¡°Nine¡± ¡°Having two schools of magic unlocked before the age of ten is just unheard of! I did not reach 50% synchronization until I was twelve.¡± Violet was shocked to learn how fast her progress was. She quickly thought of a reasonable excuse as to how she could be so fast. ¡°I was fortunate to have access to a crystal the ancients created. I would be much further behind if I didn¡¯t have that.¡± ¡°The ancients had those crystals in almost every building they created. The royal palace was built on top of one such building. The crystal survived the crusades because my ancestors were able to hide it.¡± ¡°The crusades to kill spatial magic users?¡± ¡°Also, another horrible crusade. No, these were two separate crusades. I won¡¯t bore you with history today. Please accept the stipend as a gift. My parents would like to see you prosper with us. You have been given the title of Lady and need to have an estate benefiting your new station.¡± Ancient magic in Kasmaya was beyond rare. Princess Regina was unwilling to state how many ancient mages were in the Queendom, but the number was low. The money and estate were to foster good feelings and persuade Violet to put down roots and stay in the Queendom. Violet still had her doubts about it being used against her in the future, but she had let the matter drop. As her parents became more established and began to make more money, the stipend amount lowered. By the time she had turned twelve, they no longer needed a stipend to keep their staff paid and everyone fed. Princess Regina became a regular visitor for Violet over the years. The princess was five years older than Violet, but they had shared a passion for illusion magic. Regina was a purist illusion mage. The second magic she was offered was spatial, and while her station would protect her from the negative connotations of that school of magic, she had decided not to take it.
The last month of every year was a sort of holiday. Every adult worked for half of their usual hours, and every child was given the month off from school. The snows were often heavy during this time of year, and it made sense to hunker down and wait out the storms. Violet had used this window twice to visit Avery and gain more aspects. Healing was proving to be challenging to level. The current aspects holding her back were Cure Disease and Cure Poison. It was nearly impossible to find someone who had been poisoned fast enough to cure it, and the sewers in the city helped keep diseases to a minimum. When she could leave school early, she spent as much time as possible following around one of the doctors from the health clinic. While there was a central location for health services in the city, it was common practice for doctors to visit their patients. They were always happy to have her tag along because she could heal most maladies they encountered. Lesser Heal worked by accelerating the normal healing process in the body. Most people only had enough energy to accelerate the healing process by three to five days. It would leave them weak for a day or two, but an open cut would scab over in minutes and avoid infection. Violet could add some of her vitality to the patient if they came across a particularly nasty wound. She could not do it more than once a day. Because of this, she was cautious about using it. The one time she had tried it twice in the same day, she had passed out and woke up the next day in her bed with a massive headache. It was during one of these massive headaches that a lightbulb figuratively went off over her head. ¡®Hangovers! Alcohol is a type of poison! All I need to do is visit a few taverns and cure a few drunks.¡¯ She would need to arrange an escort because she was too young to be around those establishments at night, but she could work with that.
The youngest person known to unlock their system was twelve years old. It was not common to open your system that young, though. The most common age to unlock your system was late thirteen to early fourteen. Time seemed to crawl by as she eagerly waited for her system to open. By the time she turned fifteen, she had begun to receive looks of pity. She started to have nightmares about her growth being stunted because the system never unlocked for her. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Violet was now a month away from sixteen. The oldest person to open their system was early sixteen, and that person was known to be developmentally disabled. She was becoming more anxious by the day, trying to find out why her system refused to unlock. Whenever she asked, nobody had ever heard of the system not opening. She wondered if her reincarnation had screwed up her system somehow.
Violet awoke covered in sweat. Her dream had started like many of her recent dreams had. She was in a room filled with keys, and she needed to find the right one to unlock her system. It was not a surprise to be revisiting this dream. She had tried and failed to find the key every time she was here. This time she had closed her eyes and let fate pick for her. The key she had ended up with looked like her old house key from Earth. It did not even look like it would fit in the lock, but she chose to go with it anyway. To her surprise, it worked! She was so excited that her system finally unlocked; she had not realized the dream had started to morph into something new. The dream turned into the most precise Divination future telling she had ever encountered. In the scene, she was presenting herself at court after unlocking her system. The queen was in the middle of a long speech about how vital ancient magic was, and Kasmaya now had another mage when a loud explosion had gone off in the hallway leading to the throne room. While everyone was focused on the blast, the queen and king were assassinated by a short assassin. Violet watched as the killer was joined by others who systematically killed everyone in the throne room. Seeing her death is what caused Violet to wake up so violently.
Level 27
Age 15 yr 11 mo
Experience (36470/37800)
Health 600/600
Mana 1440/1440
Stat Points 130
Skill Points 5
Strength 45
Constitution 60
Dexterity 42
Intelligence 148
Wisdom 144
[Contracts] [Magic] [Skills] [Storage] [Traits]
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 59% Tier 2 (9A) - Novice
Water 26% Tier 2 (9A) - Novice
Spatial 8% Tier 2 (9A) - Novice
Healing 41%
Healing 100% Analyze
Healing 100% Lesser Heal
Healing 57% Cure Disease
Healing 100% Drain Life
Healing 12% Cure Poison
[Basic Skills]
Acting 50
Bartering 20
Climbing 50
Cooking 40
Drawing 30
Etiquette 30
Harp 10
Language - Astrish MAX
Language - Common MAX
Language - Imperial MAX
Language - Kasmien MAX
Mathematics 60
Meditation 50
Running 50
Sewing 30
Small Blades 20
Spell Vision 64
Swimming 30
Unarmed Fighting 30
Whittling 20
Writing 42
[Novice Skills]
Accounting 20
Mana Manipulation 40
Mana Regeneration 50
Sneak 40
Translation 30
Visualization 50
[Advanced Skills]
Language - Runic MAX
Mental Notes 50
Pathfinding 20
Chapter 45 - Decisions Violet was unable to sleep after waking from her dream. There was no doubt in her mind that Divination had triggered shortly after unlocking her system. It had taken all of the joy from opening it and turned it to ashes. What was she going to do? She no longer had Avery¡¯s wards to protect her from detection. The more pressing problem she had was what she would do about the assassins. Telling the royals that she had spatial magic sounded like a horrible idea. While she considered Crown Princess Regina a friend, she needed to keep her secrets. She kept picturing herself becoming a prisoner if people found out she had more than two schools of magic. She brought up her stat screen to distract herself from these heavy thoughts.
Level 27
Age 15 yr 11 mo
Experience (36470/37800)
Health 600/600
Mana 1440/1440
Stat Points 130
Skill Points 5
Strength 45
Constitution 60
Dexterity 42
Intelligence 148
Wisdom 144
[Contracts] [Magic] [Skills] [Storage] [Traits] She had spoken to Avery, her parents, and Regina quite a bit about what to expect when her system finally unlocked. The consensus was it was a good rule of thumb to add one point into Constitution for every level she had gained. From there, the advice varied quite a bit. Everyone agreed that a base stat of 50 for every category was a safe bet. Avery said it was a good idea to keep her Intelligence and Wisdom equal or as close to equal as possible. It didn¡¯t matter how hard a spell would hit if you didn¡¯t have the mana to cast it. Her parents felt having a large pool of mana was a more significant advantage than hitting something harder. Regina, coming from a country that was constantly at war, argued that doing enormous damage in short bursts was safer because she could recover her mana pool in a protected area. After allocating five points to Strength, twenty-seven points to Constitution, and eight points to Dexterity, Violet would have ninety points left over to pour into Intelligence and/or Wisdom. She decided to go with Avery¡¯s approach to assigning stats. After evening the two stats out and adding what she had, she had a total of one hundred ninety-one Intelligence and Wisdom. Her reasoning for doing it this way was she wanted to be a more balanced magician. Violet had learned quite a bit from Regina over the years about just how unique and lucky she was. It was typical for a thirteen-year-old who had just unlocked their system to have their stats in the high thirties. She was slightly above average for Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity but almost 100 points above the average for Intelligence and Wisdom. The influx of points added to their stats could cause discomfort or pain when someone unlocks their system. There were two main ways that people dealt with this. The first way was to enter a few points and slowly assign your free points over a week. The second method was to dump them all in at once and ride out the pain. Some people were known to pass out when using this method, so assigning points while lying down was suggested. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Violet did not have time to fiddle with her stat points over a long period. She needed to talk to her parents and possibly Avery about her Divination tripping, and she also needed to stop an assassination. She left a note for her parents beside her bed, letting them know she unlocked her system if she passed out, and then made her selections. In hindsight, she probably should have asked what the average level children were when they unlocked their system. She lost consciousness right away. When she awoke sometime later, her mother was sitting next to her bed with a worried frown on her face. ¡°Oh, thank goodness! You¡¯re finally awake.¡± Violet cringed at the loud noise her mother was making. Her head was throbbing, and she could not recall why she was in bed initially. ¡°Oww, whisper,¡± She said while pulling a pillow over her head. ¡°You put more than thirty points in a single stat at one time, didn¡¯t you?¡± Violet mumbled affirmation from underneath the pillow. ¡°We should have warned you. Most teens spread their stats out enough that this is not an issue. Let me go get a potion for your headache.¡± After imbibing the most magnificent potion known to humankind, also known as a healing potion, Violet started to feel more like herself again. She felt better than herself. Her memory was more precise, and it felt like she was processing thoughts faster. She felt like she was on the brink of processing two trains of thought at once, but she was not quite there yet. ¡°Mom, I need your help¡­¡± After explaining her deadly vision and the consequences of having said vision, her mother was in a state of shock while she processed this new information. It did not take her long to respond, even if it wasn¡¯t constructive. ¡°Know that your father and I support you in everything that you do. It would be a good idea to somehow tell the royals about the assassination plot. Letting them know your secret seems dangerous though, maybe Avery will know of a way to keep your identity secret?¡± It was a long trip from the aviary to the capital, so Avery had come up with a way to get messages to each other using the messenger birds. Violet sent a coded message asking to speak with Avery as soon as it could be arranged. She felt it was ok to wait a few days because nobody else knew she had unlocked her system yet. Avery responded with another coded message of her own on where to meet Rasmus. The crown city had several flaws in its defenses. One of those was that anyone with wings or the ability to fly could quickly enter the town. Rasmus could cloak himself while sending in a human-shaped decoy for her to talk to him. He could combine his air magic with illusion magic to create a talking decoy. She was pretty jealous of this feat. She met Rasmus¡¯ decoy in a secluded park not long past noon that day. Through the bond the two birds shared, she was able to talk to them both simultaneously. After hearing about the plot, it was decided that they would use a messenger bird to deliver a warning of the assassination plot to the head of the royal guard. With that plan in place, Violet breathed easier and informed her teacher about unlocking her system.
That night she had another vivid dream. Instead of being in the throne room, she met with the royal family in a private section of the castle she had never seen before. Queen Alexandra explained that there wasn¡¯t an ancient magic school, and Violet would be paired with an Illusion mage and a healing mage to further her magic. Halfway through the meeting, people started to throw up blood. She was quick to use her healing magic, but there were too many people. By the time she had healed the first person, she had started to feel the effects of the poison in herself. Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t purge the poison from herself in time. She woke once again covered in sweat. The note had stopped the assassins, but they had still managed to slip poison into the tea. Did she want to take a chance and just warn people that the tea was poisoned? What if they looked at her as the person who had put the poison there in the first place? She was, after all, a foreigner. Her father found her pacing in her nightclothes the next day. After an awkward moment of her father asking her to put some clothes on, she asked him for his advice. ¡°Poison is a terrible business. It is twice now that people have tried to kill the royal family in your presence. What happens if you are not there the next time they try? Or do you think that you are their target?¡± While they were discussing possibilities, a royal courier arrived with an official letter for Violet. Dear Lady Violet, We request the pleasure of your company tonight two hours before sundown. There will be an informal gathering to celebrate the unlocking of your system. Sincerely, Queen Alexandra ¡®Well, that escalated fast. I won¡¯t have time to get word to the royals about poison anonymously.¡¯ After showing her parents the letter, they both agreed she should expose the poison after being served to her. They felt she could use the excuse of her detecting poison in her tea to stop the tragedy.
Her mother took time off work to go shopping with Violet. She needed something to wear fit to be in the presence of royalty. When they arrived at the dress shop, they were surprised to see princess Regina already there talking with the head tailor. ¡°Oops, you caught me! I was just letting Frank know that you would need a dress tonight and to charge it to my tab.¡± ¡°You don''t need to do that. We can afford to buy our daughter a dress.¡± Her mother responded, sounding hurt. ¡°Oh, I know you can, but this way, you have more money to spend on accessories,¡± Regina said the last word with a squeal. She loved to shop for accessories and felt the dress was needlessly expensive. ¡°Violet, while Frank takes your measurements, I¡¯m going to steal your mom and do some shopping. Sorry, but being fitted for a dress is boring and waiting for someone else to be fitted is just plain awful!¡± Regina called while dragging her mom out the door. Chapter 46 - Royal Meeting The dress fitting pretty much went the way Regina had predicted. Violet needed to stay close as Frank and his assistants modified an existing dress on hand. After trying the dress on more times than she could count, Frank had finally freed her from the torture session. ¡°Please come back in a few hours to pick up the finished product, my Lady. Perfection can¡¯t be rushed!¡± He said while walking her to the door. Violet had followed Regina around on one of her many shopping sprees, so she knew which stores to start looking in to find her mother. Walking down the cobbled roads in the higher-end shopping section, there was always something interesting to see. The stores in this section of town all sported actual glass windows, and they made a competition out of who could create the most exciting window display. She was staring at one such display when Regina found her. Violet¡¯s poor mother looked like she had been run ragged. Her mother had long since lost the wonder of Regina¡¯s title and started to think of the girl as just one of Violet¡¯s friends. Regina had made it clear that while she was away from the palace, everyone treated her like an average noble-born person. Titles and bowing were for court, not for every day. ¡°Good news Vi! We found the perfect jewelry set to go with the dress Frank is making for you! Oh, and you should see the shoes we picked out.¡± ¡°You left me! I was there for hours all by myself!¡± Violet posed dramatically. Regina blew a raspberry at her and said, ¡°Just be thankful this isn¡¯t a formal occasion, or we would be shopping for a week to get everything we need.¡± She stopped mid-stride and said, ¡°We should probably start shopping for that. I wouldn''t put it past my mother to call a formal occasion for you.¡± Violet groaned and said, ¡°Not today! We need to go pick up my dress, and then you need to help me do my hair.¡± ¡°Pfft, I am a princess! I¡¯ll let you borrow my maid.¡±
Regina¡¯s maid stopped by Violet¡¯s estate two hours before the meeting to help her get ready. The woman had very few words but could compete with Violet¡¯s mother for her love of humming. She had Violet¡¯s hair up in an intricate braid and her face lightly dusted with cosmetics within an hour, and then she was promptly out the door. Violet didn¡¯t have the heart to tell the maid that she could easily do her cosmetics with her illusion magic. After looking in the mirror, she used Cleanse on her face to remove the product. Clogged pores were unfortunately still a thing, and she didn¡¯t want the cosmetics to cause acne. She used Disguise Self to apply her style of makeup for the occasion. She looked in the mirror to assess her work. She had added magical concealer on her face, darkened her lips, and added eyeliner and light purple eyeshadow. The color made her violet eyes pop and look more vibrant. Her dress was emerald green with a modest bodice that did not show any cleavage and a long flowing skirt. It was a simple dress in fine cloth appropriate for an informal gathering with royalty. The jewelry Regina and her mother picked out was a simple white crystal necklace and ear cuffs to match. Pierced ears had not taken off in Zogara, but ear cuffs of many styles were popular. Honestly, she could have and probably should have left the makeup alone. She was doing everything she could think of to take her mind off the coming meeting. An hour inside her head thinking of all the ways this could go wrong was far too long. By the time the carriage arrived for her, she felt like she had spotted assassins around every corner.
When she arrived at the palace, she was led to the private area reserved for the royals. It was nowhere near the first time she had been here, but it was the first time she had been so formally invited. She was relieved to see Regina¡¯s parents and brothers acting like usual. Violet began to formally bow when she entered the room but was immediately stopped by the Queens consort. ¡°None of that, Violet! We are all family here.¡± Since Queens Consort was such a mouthful to say, Violet had secretly referred to David as King David in her head. He supported Queen Alexandra in her role but did not make final decisions. Together they had three children. Crown Princess Regina was the oldest at five years older than Violet. Prince Louis was three years older, and Prince Rex was around the same age as Violet. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Regina and Louis shared the same red hair like their mother, while David and Rex were the oddballs with Blonde and Black hair, respectively. Regina liked to tease Rex about his black hair, saying he was clearly adopted. It was very well known he was not, but it was the running joke in their family. ¡°Come have dinner with us, Violet. Regina has been so excited that you have finally unlocked your system.¡± Alexandra said. Violet sat at the table and made small talk while they waited for dinner to be served. Something felt wrong about this setting. Her vision with the poisoning included a few more people who were missing from the room. Everyone was wearing different clothing from her dream as well. Before the servants began serving dinner, the queen stood to make an announcement. ¡°As we all know, we are here to celebrate Violet¡¯s ascension into adulthood by unlocking her system. Our gift to you is granting you the farmlands around your estate. Don''t worry. We will make sure you keep the current manager, so all that will change for the commoners is whom they pay their taxes to.¡± Violet stood and bowed deeply to the queen. ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty. I will continue to treat the land and tenants as you have been treating them.¡± Regina hugged her and said, ¡°Oh, knock off that Your Majesty crap while we are just family. You know mom doesn¡¯t want to be called a title if she doesn¡¯t have to be.¡± Glancing over across the table, Violet saw the queen was nodding and smiling along with everyone else at the table. It still shocked her how normal the royals felt behind closed doors. If they were in public, titles and courtesies were required, but never in private. When everyone had been served dinner, and the queen nodded her approval to begin eating, Violet immediately picked up her glass. She began to run down her list of aspects to test for poison. The most obvious aspect she used first was Cure Poison, but it did not work. Next, she used Analyze on the contents of her cup. She could not detect anything wrong with her drink. As a last-ditch effort, she used cleanse on her beverage. It had the unfortunate side effect of turning her juice into water. She kept discreetly touching Regina¡¯s arm throughout the night and casting Cure Poison on her. The target would be none the wiser if the spell failed, so she felt it was safe to try. As the night wound down, she began to question if she was having a nightmare instead of a Divination. What if there were never any assassins. She had been so on edge throughout the night. Unfortunately, she could not enjoy the wonderful meal prepared in her honor. Regina had picked up on her feelings at some point during the night and was making odd faces at her. The princess spoke up as she was walking Violet to the door. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Vi? You haven¡¯t suddenly become afraid of my family, have you? They only have your best interests at heart.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that. I had a nightmare last night and dreamt that everyone was poisoned, and it colored the whole evening for me. I¡¯m sorry I wasn¡¯t a very good guest tonight.¡± ¡°No worries. Nightmares are horrible!¡± ¡°Yes, this one felt so real that when I woke, I was frightened.¡± Regina hugged Violet and then, when they made it to the door, casually said, ¡°By the way, my mom reminded me on the way out that you need to come to the next witan.¡± ¡°What is a witan? That is a new one for me.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a meeting once a month that all nobles attend. You are an adult now, so you should attend those meetings. They are dreadfully boring, but they often have lots of exotic teas to try.¡±
Regina had far too much fun dragging Violet around shopping for a new wardrobe. Violet needed to look like a noble all the time now that she was considered an adult. So, of course, Regina was quick to point this out as an excuse to go shopping. The witan was scheduled to take place at the beginning of next week. Because of this, their shopping trip was focused on getting a presentable outfit for Violet to wear. While they were in the shops, her future wardrobe was ordered for the shopkeepers to fill at a more leisurely pace. After their shopping trip, they both returned to Violet¡¯s estate. They had made a game of playing with illusions to make the most outlandish makeup. Violet had a lot of fun imitating makeup she had seen on rock stars from her old world. Regina tended to create looks that made her look like a beastkin or another animal. They had a slight hiccup when Violet placed a star over one eye while imitating old makeup fashion. ¡°Vi, don''t do that! What if someone saw you with a star? You don''t want any rumors about you being a spatial mage to be in circulation.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry! I just thought a star was pretty. I¡¯ll make sure never to do that again.¡± Violet was shocked at how fast a simple star could ruin the mood. This moment of carelessness could have been dangerous if it were anyone but Regina. Thankfully Regina knew they were playing with illusions and the mark was fake. Regina insisted that Violet would be expected to maintain a minimal amount of illusionary makeup as an illusion mage. She was to practice keeping it in place at all times. Little did Regina know that Violet had mastered keeping illusions on her body at a very young age so that this task would be an easy one for her. She had been leaving her Illusion, and Healing marks uncovered since she had let it be known about her magic. Nobody but her parents and Avery knew she had more than two schools of magic. There were times when she had wanted to tell Regina in the past, but she always stopped herself with the possible consequences. Yes, the royal family treated her like one of their own, but what happened when her uniqueness came to light? She wasn¡¯t willing to risk sharing her secrets. Chapter 47 - Witan Part 1 The days leading up to the witan were filled with Violet learning the ins and outs of managing her new farmlands. The fields were well established, and the people who lived and worked on them were all friendly when she introduced herself. She was shocked at how much coordination and planning were required to run smoothly. There were very few amberclaws available in Kasmaya, and as a result, many things were done using magic. It was common for at least one person from each farming family to know how to use modern magic. There were spells available to till the land and water the fields. Mana was a limitation, but there were ways for even non-magic users to donate their mana to a casting. Violet was fortunate enough to be present for the plowing of a field. Participating in a spell as a mana battery was a new experience for her. The farmer¡¯s wife, Anita, had brought out a giant spellbook on a podium beside the field. Before the spell was cast, everyone there held hands to create a chain. The first person in the chain would touch the person casting the spell to supply mana. She had asked if people could be used as mana batteries against their will. After receiving a dirty look, they said mana could not forcefully be taken from them if anyone was unwilling. It seems that even modern magic had a lot of intent-based rules. When everyone had assumed their positions, the casting was fascinating to watch. Anita was singing a song in a foreign language while using her hands and arms to make complicated gestures. Once the song and gesturing were complete, Violet felt her mana slowly draining to fuel the spell. It was not an unpleasant feeling, and she thought she could stop the draining at any time if she wanted it to stop. The field in front of them was marked with unique stones to direct the magic. After the magic was done, the area was plowed, and there were mounds shaped in orderly rows. Anita told her after the spell had been completed that she was shocked so much had been done. Usually, they did not have enough mana for the entire field to be done with one casting. The only parts of farming done by hand were seeding, weeding, and harvesting. There were spells for those things, but they were inferior to doing them by hand. Seeding with magic was imprecise, and for the plants to be placed in rows, it was best to sow by hand. When you used magic to weed a field, half the time, the spell would destroy part of the crop along with the weeds. The same problem happened when trying to harvest with magic. The modern magic spell would damage the crop. Violet imagined an ancient magic Nature user would overcome these difficulties, but modern magic was too limited. No new spells were being created for modern magic because the knowledge of how to create spells was lost. She wouldn''t be surprised if an ancient magic user were the one to make all of the known spells.
The witan snuck up on Violet. She had let herself get so distracted with meeting her new people and learning what they did that she had forgotten about the meeting. Thankfully, she had not had any more nightmares since her poisoning dream. She still, to this day, was not 100% sure if it was a nightmare or a Divination. When she had woken up, she had felt for sure it was a Divination, but nothing came of it. Regina showed up on the morning of the witan with a handful of maids in tow. ¡°You forgot, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Forgot what? You know my brain doesn¡¯t work quite as well in the morning.¡± ¡°The witan is today!¡± She said while opening Violet¡¯s closet. She picked up a yellow silk dress and said, ¡°You should wear this one. The yellow looks nice against your tanned skin and brings out the purple of your eyes.¡± ¡°Is there a ball or something you failed to mention?¡± ¡°No, you just need to dress as if you were attending a ball when you go to the witan tonight.¡± She said while rummaging through Violet¡¯s jewelry box to look for something to match her dress. Regina had never been shy about snooping through Violet¡¯s things. The majority of the jewelry that Violet owned was forced on her by Regina in the first place, so it¡¯s not like the contents of the drawers were a secret.
The witan was being held in one of the smaller ballrooms in the palace. Tonight¡¯s meeting would be hosting the majority of the local nobles and a few from other cities. All nobles were required to attend this meeting four times a year, but tonight was not one of those nights. Even with it being local nobility, Regina warned her there would likely be more than two hundred people in attendance. When Violet arrived for the witan, she was announced at the ballroom door. She would assume this was a dance if she didn¡¯t know better. Several musicians were off to one side playing light soothing music while people who had already arrived were socializing. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Violet¡¯s experience with other nobles to this point had been very negative. The noble children she attended school with were scheming, backstabbing, and rude. Not all of them were this way, but she had not found any friends among her classmates. All of the races in Kasmaya were represented as nobles. Most were human, but several beastkin, elves, and centaur nobles attended. Nobility in Kasmaya was expected to take care of the commoners attached to their lands. It meant if they did not, the commoners could petition the crown for mistreatment. What shocked Violet was if a commoner did petition the crown, the crown often sided with the peasant. If a noble was found negligent, their title could be removed and awarded to someone who would do the job correctly. Usually, the only thing required was to manage logistics and ensure each family had access to the tools they needed to succeed. If a farming family did not have a magic user, the nobility would provide one for an extra fee. The fees were often steep, but they always followed the letter of the law. Violet felt out of place in the large ballroom. She didn¡¯t know many of the people there, and those she did know, she didn¡¯t care to talk to. Many of the people looked like older versions of her classmates, which made sense because nobility was something inherited from your parents for most people. Violet was only a noble because of her ability to access ancient magic. She found herself wandering around the outer edges of the room, trying not to look as lost as she felt. Regina and her family would be the last to enter the ballroom, and then everyone would be seated at a table for dinner. Violet was looking forward to all of the teas Regina had promised her. Looking around the room, Violet started to feel like she was missing something. It felt like she was missing something important. It had taken twenty minutes for her to put her finger on what she was missing finally. She recognized the outfits many of the nobility were wearing. Bringing up the memory of her second dream, too many people were wearing the same clothing. The poisoning could happen tonight if her Divination were genuine. Not everything was the same as her dream, the location had changed, and she did not remember a dinner table. She would be extra vigilant and sound the alarm immediately if she found something. About a half-hour after arriving, the royal family was announced. Regina made a beeline directly toward Violet but at a much more sedate pace than she usually would have taken. Violet hid a smile because the princess was required to act appropriately for her station tonight. The same rules, of course, also applied to Violet, but she felt so out of place the court manners felt more like armor than a restriction. ¡°Good evening Lady Violet. How are you tonight?¡± Violet gave a proper curtsey and replied, ¡°Good evening, your royal highness. I am doing well.¡± Their whole conversation revolved around the weather and other mundane things and felt stilted. When dinner had been announced, Regina quickly whispered in Violet¡¯s ear. ¡°We checked all of the beverages tonight and found poison in most of them. Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ve replaced it all so we will be safe. Your nightmare was worth having because it prompted us to check everything. I¡¯ll fill you in on the details later.¡± Her second dream had been confirmed, but this was good news. Her telling Regina about the nightmare had stopped the poisoning. Violet had not had a third dream based on these changes, so maybe the crisis was averted. She was seated among her peers at the dinner table. Because she was of the lowest rung of nobility, she could not even see the royals from where she was sitting. Her dinner companions were polite and everyone stuck to the polite topics of weather, their estates, and how lovely everyone looked. Violet did not detect any poison in any of the food or beverages she was served and finally allowed herself to relax a little bit and enjoy. Dinner was served in several smaller courses. Everyone was served the same dish, but care had been taken to include everyone¡¯s tastes when planning the meal. Each plate served had at least one meat, some vegetables, and some greens. While Centaurs and Elves could eat meat, they preferred vegetables and greens. Humans and Beastkin, on the other hand, often chose more meaty dishes. Every individual had different tastes, so each dish was served differently. Spicy, sweet, salty, sour, and bitter were all served. The cooks made masterpieces of each dish. After dinner, everyone migrated to a third room that Violet had not seen before. The room looked like an auditorium. Nobles were allowed to find a seat where they pleased, while the royals all had throne-like chairs on the stage. There were podiums placed on both sides of the stage for nobles to address the room. Violet wondered if anyone would notice if she had fallen asleep. It had been close to two hours since everyone had been seated, and it felt like every noble present had some issue they wanted to address with the Queen and the other nobles. Many of the matters were squabbles between nobles for the pettiest things she had heard of. Noble A insulted Noble B, and now they wanted compensation for it. There was a lot of finger-pointing, and he said she said going on. It was nearing the end of the session when disaster struck. The noble that had been prattling on stage stopped talking mid-sentence when an arrow manifested itself in his chest. It had taken the wards placed around the royals sounding the alarm to wake most people out of the stupor. The hall turned into chaos. Several assassins with crossbows were hanging from the ceiling near the back, shooting at the nobles. An earthen shield had been erected around the royal family, most likely placed there by the Queen¡¯s Consort David. Several nobles were banging on locked doors, trying to escape the arrows. Guards stationed in the room were trying their best to get to the intruders in the back. There were too many people in their way. The guards were being expertly led away from the royals. Everywhere Violet turned, someone was bleeding on the ground. As soon as she saw the first arrow, Violet placed an invisible shield that used aspects for both water and spatial to keep her safe. One of the shorter assassins climbed up on the stage and threw a device at the earthen shield protecting the royals. To Violet¡¯s shock, not only did the device take down the protection, but it also took her guards down as well. It took her several heartbeats to reapply the shield to herself before she looked at the stage once again. What she saw turned her blood cold. David lay unmoving with a large head wound while Louis crossed swords with the assassin. Violet tried to cast a ranged attack at the killer, but she had difficulties getting her magic to work after whatever that device did. Louis tripped over his father¡¯s body and fell forward onto the assassin¡¯s blade taking her mask off while he fell. Green hair spilled down around the assailant¡¯s shoulders, revealing a human woman. Violet used her spatial magic to lower her gravity and jump onto the stage with the royals. She froze in shock when she got close enough to see the assailant. ¡°Jade?¡± Chapter 48 - Witan Part 2 There once was an author who only posted on Royal Road. That author was sad to find their story published on another website behind a paywall. Sadly, several other stories from Royal Road were also reposted on this malicious site. If you are reading this somewhere other than Royal Road or Patreon, it is not posted with the author¡¯s permission. ¡°Jade?¡± After dispatching the guards in the room, several more attackers made their way onto the stage. Violet could see Regina, Alexandra, and Rex a little ways away with their backs to each other. Regina held a Shadow Blade, while Alexandra and Rex each had a metal blade in their hands. Violet summoned a Shadow Blade and was relieved to see the effects of the device had worn off, and her magic was responding as it should. Upon seeing Violet, a sneer formed on Jade¡¯s face. ¡°YOU! It¡¯s all your fault!¡± she screamed while running to attack Violet. Violet was shocked at Jade¡¯s reaction to seeing her and barely got her blade up to deflect Jade¡¯s sword thrust. Swordsmanship was one of the classes she was required to take while attending school. It was a class Regina had forced her to take, and she was now very thankful for that extra push. Jade was an accomplished swordswoman that kept Violet on her toes. During their exchanges, Jade was running her mouth. ¡°Everything that has happened to me is your fault. My parents, the trainers, heck, even what happened to poor Sky is your fault.¡± That last sentence broke her out of her zone enough to allow Jade to bounce her sword off of Violet¡¯s shields. ¡°What did they do to Sky?¡± Jade just grinned manically and continued to attack. As they were trading blows, a loud explosion could be heard in the distance coming from several different directions at once. Jade cackled and started to boast, ¡°That would be your warehouses and winter reserves being blown up all around the city.¡± The next explosion to go off was much closer. The doors the nobles were still desperately trying to open were incinerated with the force of the blast, killing most of the nobles crowding the doorway. The concussive force of the explosion knocked everyone in the room back, forcing Jade away from her. Taking a quick look around the stage, both Regina and Rex were bleeding from several cuts but still fighting. Queen Alexandra had several plants around her person acting as shields and whips. Violet didn¡¯t notice any scratches on the queen. The Royals took advantage of the distraction to push back all but one of their attackers. Jade was quick to close the distance between them once more. It seemed her love of talking had not changed. ¡°Do you know how much suffering you have caused me? My parents became servants after the stunts you pulled! They blamed my innocent parents for you killing people and running away.¡± Violet waited for an opening in their exchange and launched a modified Shadow Blade from her opposite hand toward Jade. Unfortunately for Jade, she was too slow to deflect it, and a large wound was opened on her inner thigh. Jade continued to attack even with her leg bleeding profusely. The damage was a death blow, and she knew it. Her attacks became erratic with no thought for defense. Her only goal was to kill Violet. When Jade collapsed because her leg would no longer hold her weight, she grinned like a mad person and said, ¡°Tennyson will find you!¡± Violet quickly ran to check on Louis. The sword wound that Louis had taken was directly through his heart, and there was nothing she could do for him. When she reached David, he was still shallowly breathing. Using her Analyze spell, she determined that he was unconscious due to the blow on his head and that he also had a broken skull. She supplemented her Lesser Healing spell with as much vitality as she could spare trying to save him. Head wounds were one of the hardest things for her to heal.
She woke sometime later in an unfamiliar bed. Sunlight was shining through the curtain and illuminating the room. It looked like she was in one of the guest bedrooms at the palace. Her suspicions were confirmed a few minutes later when a servant came in to check on her. Violet was so drained from the vitality she had sacrificed that she could only mumble a request for water. The woman was quick to return to her bedside with a glass of water. She was also thankfully quite a talker and started to explain what she knew of what Violet missed. ¡°You are safe, My Lady. Queens Consort David still lives. He has not woken up yet, but his head wound is no longer visible. The royal healer was able to pick up where you left off and provide some of his vitality as well.¡± ¡°Regina?¡± Violet croaked out. ¡°Oh, she is just fine, she had a few nice nicks, but they all avoided important areas. Her Royal Majesty Alexandra was able to make it through the encounter unscathed, and His Royal Highness Prince Rex only received minor wounds. Rest now, everyone else is safe.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
The next time Violet awoke, her mother was sitting beside her bed. ¡°How long have I been out?¡± ¡°You slept for the entire day and the following night. It is an hour before dawn.¡± She was feeling quite a bit better. Her downtime was more extended than usual, but she had never given so much vitality to anyone else she had healed before. ¡°How is David doing?¡± ¡°He woke long enough for them to get some soup down his throat yesterday and was sleeping again last I heard.¡± Her mother looked down like she did when she wanted to ask a question but didn¡¯t know how to word it. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I know you¡¯ve been unconscious, but nobody will tell me what happened. All I know is several nobles are dead, prince Louis is dead, and explosions destroyed several warehouses around the city.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, mom, but I don''t know all of the details either. The assassins weren¡¯t from Astresh. Mom, Jade was there. Why is the Chromatic Dominion targeting the royal family?¡± ¡°Oh my, that poor girl. Life couldn¡¯t have been easy for her these last few years. The nobles would have needed a scapegoat to blame for losing the ancient site. I guess that Jade¡¯s parents were an easy target and suffered the consequences for our actions.¡± ¡°Jade said something about something bad happening to Sky. Do you have any idea what could have happened?¡± ¡°It is hard to say. Sky and his family could claim not to know anything and get out of the situation unscathed. I don''t know. He definitely can¡¯t be blamed for us running away, but the nobles aren¡¯t always fair.¡± ¡°Why would they be in trouble for us running away? Nobody should have gotten hurt when I kicked them out of the ancient ruins.¡± ¡°Violet, nobles in the Chromatic Dominion are always out to cover their rears. Noble Tennyson had to either take the blame or point to someone else. Depending on how bad things turned out, he probably had mud on his face as well.¡± ¡°Are they attacking Kasmaya because of us?¡± ¡°That is very unlikely. Even if Sky told them about you having magic, our family is just too insignificant to devote so many resources. The attacks were targeted to create havoc and destroy the rulers of this country.¡± ¡°I would have expected more assassins to attack during the witan. There couldn¡¯t have been more than six in a room with hundreds of people. Maybe those were the only people able to slip through the defenses after I warned them about the assassins coming?¡± ¡°I wouldn''t ask anyone that question. You have Illusion and Healing magic and couldn¡¯t possibly have known about the assassins.¡± Her mother scolded. After a long stretch of silence had gone on between them, Violet quietly said, ¡°Mom, I killed Jade.¡± Her mother wrapped her in a hug while telling her things like ¡°you didn¡¯t have a choice¡± and ¡°it¡¯s not your fault¡± for quite a while after that.
After a hearty breakfast found its way into her stomach, Violet was ready to get out of bed and find answers to the questions her mother was unable to answer. Unfortunately for her, the royal healer had ordered that she stay in bed to recover her strength. She needed to wait for him to release her at some point. Regina popped her head in the room that evening after Violet¡¯s mother had left. She was sporting bandages on both of her arms and had a scabbed-over wound near her temple. ¡°Hi Vi, mind if I come in?¡± ¡°Save me! Every time I try to leave my room, the guard at the door keeps telling me I have to stay in bed.¡± Regina laughed at her theatrics. ¡°Why do you think it took me so long to come to see you? The royal healer is running himself ragged trying to see to everyone¡¯s wounds and is a firm believer that bed rest heals all.¡± She closed the distance between them and wrapped Violet in a bear hug. ¡°Dad is going to make it, thanks to you.¡± She sniffled. Violet hugged her back just as tightly. ¡°I couldn¡¯t save Louis, but I gave everything I could for your dad. I¡¯m so sorry.¡± That was all that was needed for them both to start sobbing. The amount of death in that room and having people trying to kill her was just too much. Regina had that, plus losing her brother to deal with. Sometime later, the royal healer, Samuel, came to visit her. The two of them had mostly stopped crying when he came around, and they were sitting on her bed talking. ¡°I¡¯m in bed!¡± Violet said dramatically when she saw him. That caused him to crack a smile. The poor man looked like he needed to take his own advice and rest. ¡°How are you feeling, Violet?¡± He said while he came around to her to check her vitals with an Analyze. Samuel was a Healing purist. Regina said there was only one other ancient healer in the Queendom, and they had a second aspect. ¡°I¡¯m feeling much better, thank you.¡± ¡°No more using your vitality for healing for at least another day after tomorrow. Tomorrow you may go about your normal routine once again.¡± Making his way over to Regina, he checked her wounds and warned her not to wander off too far. After the healer left, Violet raised an eyebrow at Regina. ¡°You might have been on bed arrest, but I¡¯m still on house arrest. The guards are tracking down every agent left from the attacks. We were able to kill all of the assassins that attacked the witan, but there were more involved with the explosions.¡± There once was an author who only posted on Royal Road. That author was sad to find their story published on another website behind a paywall. Sadly, several other stories from Royal Road were also reposted on this malicious site. If you are reading this somewhere other than Royal Road or Patreon, it is not posted with the author¡¯s permission. Chapter 49 - Meeting With The Queen When Violet woke, she was ready to leave her room and the castle. Her mother had left yesterday afternoon after receiving a note. At the time, her mom had played it off as a note from her work, and Violet had let her get away with it. Something suspicious was happening with her mother, and she was going to get to the bottom of it. It was starting to bother her that her father had not come by to see her yet. There could be multiple reasons why he had not come. It could be something as simple as the guards were locking down security around the palace, and Violet wasn¡¯t hurt, just drained of energy. Rather than work herself up over nothing, she left her room to have breakfast in the dining room. Rex and Regina were sitting at the table when she arrived for breakfast. They both had bandages covering various portions of their arms. The siblings were arguing about who was the most injured. Rex argued that since less of Regina¡¯s arms were visible, she clearly was more injured. At the same time, Regina countered that Rex had bandages under his clothing that should count as well. Violet just shook her head at their antics and helped herself to breakfast, and seated herself next to Regina. The three of them made small talk about everything except what had happened during the attack. It made her heart hurt not to see Louis sitting at the table with them, playing mediator between the youngest and the oldest of the siblings. Not long after Violet finished her meal, a servant let her know that the Queen would like to see her at her earliest convenience. It was, of course, royal verbiage for drop everything and go attend the Queen. She was sure it was not a coincidence that she received that message after she had finished her meal. Queen Alexandra had never given her cause for concern in the past, so Violet was not worried as she followed the servant to meet with the Queen. What struck her as a little odd was that neither of the siblings followed along behind them. She was beginning to worry a little bit when the servant showed her into an area of the palace that she had never gone to before. To be honest, she didn¡¯t even realize the secret door they went through had even existed. The stairs and hallways they traversed reminded her of the ancient ruins in which she spent the early part of her life. It made sense as it was well known that the castle was built on an ancient site. When they finally reached their destination, the room the queen was waiting in was the most extensive library she had ever seen on Zogara. The walls were lined with bookcases that reached three stories high. Ladders on wheels were sprinkled throughout the room to make retrieving books possible. At the very center of the room, there were several couches and chairs set up around tables. The queen was located near the middle, seated in a comfortable-looking chair reading a book. Not knowing what to do in this situation, she slowly approached the queen and sat across from her. They were in private, and not even the servant remained in the room with them, so bowing and using titles was not required. Alexandra let her sit there for a few minutes before placing a bookmark and closing the book. She looked at Violet, smiled, and said, ¡°Thank you for saving my husband¡¯s life.¡± ¡°I did the best that I could until Samuel could reach him and do a better job. I¡¯m thankful I could help save at least one life in that chaos.¡± After a moment of silence to collect her thoughts, Alexandra said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know what to do with you when you first showed up in my Queendom. An ancient mage is a boon, but you were from another country and keeping secrets from us.¡± Violet looked down and tried not to look guilty. ¡°I didn¡¯t know if I could trust you, and my mentor made me sign an ancient system-enforced contract to protect her identity.¡± ¡°It was disappointing to hear that at the time, but that is not the biggest secret you have still to this day kept from us. You were too young for the Chromatic Dominion to use as a spy, but I could not think of any other reason how you made it out of that country in possession of ancient magic.¡± ¡°I am not and never was a spy for that awful country. My magic did not manifest until I was older and able to hide my mark.¡± ¡°Yes, I know. I had my daughter get that whole story out of you years ago. I originally sent her to keep an eye on you. Don¡¯t worry, her friendship with you has turned into true friendship, and she has spoken up for you on many occasions.¡± It had seemed a little strange that a princess would want to hang around. Violet had already considered Regina a spy early on, but it had turned into genuine friendship over time. ¡°Why tell me this now?¡± ¡°Why don''t you trust me? You¡¯ve had years to come clean to us, and yet you have not even told Regina your secret.¡± She replied. ¡®Uh oh, act cool. How did she find out? Dang, she¡¯s staring at me. I¡¯m taking too long to respond.¡¯ Violet thought and then quickly said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, some things are better left a secret. It does not harm anyone for me to keep it, and the last time I let a secret out, we had to flee the country.¡± ¡°You really aren¡¯t going to tell me, are you? Since you¡¯ve arrived, I¡¯ve known and have never taken advantage of you. I would have hoped by now you could feel you could trust me.¡± The queen placed an illusion on the table, proving her statement. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 62% Tier 2 (9A) - Novice
Water 28% Tier 2 (9A) - Novice
Spatial 11% Tier 2 (9A) - Novice
Healing 50%
Healing 100% Analyze
Healing 100% Lesser Heal
Healing 64% Cure Disease
Healing 100% Drain Life
Healing 78% Cure Poison
¡°I¡¯m not sure how you have access to so many different schools of magic. You were right to keep it a secret. The only reason I bring it up now is that you used aspects you should not have during the attack.¡± ¡°But everyone should have been too distracted to pay attention to me.¡± ¡°Dear, it is hard to miss someone jumping onto the stage from that far away. I¡¯m not sure what you did to make your Shadow Blade a projectile at the end there, but that is also something you should not be able to do.¡± ¡°What happens now? I do trust you, but you need to do what is best for your country, and that may mean making sacrifices in the future.¡± ¡°I will not sacrifice you for my country. You are a treasure worth protecting. Thank you for telling Regina about the poison in your ¡°dream.¡± I can¡¯t prove it, but you probably are the source for the earlier assassin¡¯s warning as well. Let me protect you.¡± ¡°Will I become a prisoner? That is honestly my biggest fear.¡± ¡°Now that is just hurtful. I treat you the same as my children. That will not change now that you know I know your secret. It would be wise if you continue to keep your secret.¡± The queen paused to think about her following sentence. ¡°I would like to send you on a journey to the ancient sites in the Queendom. The device that interrupted our magic is new to me, and if the Chromatic Dominion can reproduce such an item, I fear for the future.¡± ¡°If the item has been recovered, I may be able to read it. I can read the Runic language.¡± ¡°If only it were that easy. No, we found no trace of the device that was used. On another, more delicate subject, I think it would be wise if you used the crystal here in the castle to gain more aspects if you are able.¡± ¡°I usually visit my mentor to have access to a crystal. Are you sure that will be ok? No strings attached?¡± Alexandra replied in a subdued voice, ¡°Violet, your father was caught in one of the explosions in town.¡± Before the queen could finish her sentence, Violet had gone deathly pale and jumped to her feet. ¡°Where is he? Is he ok? Is Samuel with him?¡± ¡°Settle down. Your father still lives. He has sustained severe burns across the left side of his body. Samuel has been draining his mana the second he recovers to help heal the wounded nobles and the most severe cases of commoners. Regrow - Skin should be the next healing aspect you can pick up.¡± ¡°Please show me to the crystal. I should be able to pick up two healing aspects and another school of magic.¡± The queen gasped when Violet said the part about another school of magic. ¡°You truly are a special child.¡± Violet watched as the queen pulled a rug away from the center of the room to reveal a trap door. There was a ladder leading down into a ten-foot by ten-foot room with a crystal embedded into the center of the floor. ¡°Go on then. I¡¯ll wait up here.¡± After entering the mindscape, it had taken Violet quite a while to calm down enough to focus on the puzzles she needed to solve for her new aspects. She was thankful for the time freeze while in these trials because she didn¡¯t think she could have calmed down enough, thinking her father was in pain while she took her time in this place. Congratulations, you have received the aspect for Regrow - Skin with synchronization starting at 11%. Congratulations, you have received the aspect for Regrow - Limb with synchronization starting at 11%. To return for more aspects, you must have a total of 56% synchronization for Healing. She was amazed at how easy the tests had become with her added stats into Intelligence and Wisdom. The complexity for the Regrow - Limb puzzle was ratcheted up quite a few notches because it was part of the most challenging tier to obtain. While she had access to the crystal, Violet decided to see which school of magic fate had in store for her. The large wheel returned with the four remaining colors. Red for fire, orange for earth, yellow for air, and green for nature were the remaining magic schools she needed to obtain. Fate smiles upon you. Nature shall be yours. Chapter 50 - Nature Magic Fate smiles upon you. Nature shall be yours. The mindscape for her Nature challenge was in a large meadow with an apple tree in the center. Wildflowers dotted the short grass in arranged clumps. She would not be surprised if they made a pattern when viewed from the air. The apple tree at the center was the focal point of this mindscape, so she slowly made her way to the center and approached the tree. The tree¡¯s trunk looked to be carved in the shape of a willowy woman. Moss grew on the bark to give the illusion of hair, and leaves were woven into a short dress that covered her from under her arms to a few inches above the knees. As Violet moved to get a closer look at the figure, it blinked and then smiled at her. ¡°Hello Violet¡± Not expecting the tree to move, she jumped back and barely held in a scream. The dryad began laughing at Violet¡¯s reaction and said, ¡°Oh, how I do enjoy playing pranks on people.¡± ¡°I thought the mindscape was made up from my subconscious. How would you have played tricks on others?¡± ¡°The setting is a product of your subconscious, but the guardians are their own people. We are here to test you and make sure you are worthy of our magic.¡± ¡°All I had for Illusion and Water magic was a prompt.¡± ¡°You are a special case, Violet. The limitless trait is very rare, but others have received it in the past. Guardians are placed as gatekeepers to ensure that the correct people receive power. We can look into both of your pasts to make an educated guess on how your future will be.¡± ¡°Am I the correct type of person to receive Nature magic?¡± ¡°That is what I am here to find out. Don''t worry. I won''t make you jump through logic hoops to see if you are smart or not. You have already proven that. My test will involve the aspect that you will receive.¡± ¡°I am about to go on a journey. Do you have any aspects that would help me on my trip?¡± ¡°There are three aspects that you are currently eligible to receive. All would be useful, but I believe the ability to create your own food would be a boon for your travels.¡± To gain Create Food, you must use this aspect to summon the following food items: The dryad melded back into her tree and would not respond to any of Violet¡¯s questions after the task popped up. Whenever she had received an aspect in the past, a tiny amount of knowledge was planted in her brain to teach her how to use the ability. This time was no different. Violet decided it would be best to tackle the list in order. She had an apple tree before her, and she missed apples. Visualizing a red apple like the ones in the tree, she thought of how it felt in her hands, how it tasted, and what the texture was like. Slowly allowing her mana to flow into her mental image, she continued until something solid dropped into her hand. Looking down at what she had created, she was pretty upset. She had made a plastic replica of an apple instead of the actual fruit. The replica quickly crumbled into dust shortly after she inspected it. After several attempts, she got better at making the apple look correct, but it was always an inedible object instead of the actual fruit. Starting to get frustrated, she asked the tree, ¡°What am I doing wrong?¡± ¡°Would you like to spend three percent synchronization for a hint?¡± Grumbling, she responded with an affirmative. ¡°You were doing two things wrong. First, you were not visualizing that it was alive and would also help provide you with life through its nutrition. The second thing you were doing wrong I¡¯ll give you for free. There are no apples on Zogara. You cannot create that which does not exist.¡± A large table filled with fruits, vegetables, meats, and various meals she had eaten before appeared in the clearing. Being able to pick up, feel, and taste the different types of food helped Violet immensely. She was able to conjure Zogara¡¯s equivalent of raspberries, carrots, and beef after a few more hours of attempts. Inside this trial, when she conjured something, her mana dropped to represent how much it would have cost. Her regen was insanely high inside the challenge, so it didn''t take longer than a few minutes to be at full mana again. Conjuring fruit cost her one-third of her mana, vegetables cost a little under half, and meat cost two-thirds. The amount she could summon at that cost was enough for an average meal. She would not be surprised if the cost of mana were tied to the calorie count. Conjuring the meal was quite a bit more complicated. Violet decided to attempt a recreation of meat and carrot stew because she had cooked it many times. To recreate it correctly, she needed to conjure the seasonings and the broth. She then decided that if she was going to recreate the stew, she would add all of the ingredients. It meant she needed to visualize potatoes, broccoli, onion, and a few other vegetables as well. Being able to practice this during a time freeze was a huge boon. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. There was a slight stumbling block when she tried to summon salt. It was technically a mineral and not something living. The other issue she came across was broth was mainly made from water. While she could create water with her Water magic, she felt there had to be some way to create these things using Create Food. It had taken her much longer than she would like to admit, but she was finally able to get around this roadblock. The answer to these issues was a little complicated, but she just needed to picture the finished product rather than piece by piece. Because it was combined in something she considered food, she could conjure it. When she had finally learned each of the larger ingredients, it took her several attempts to get the stew to taste correct. She was thankful for the empty bowls that spawned on the table with the other food examples. Surprisingly, a finished meal only cost her around three-quarters of her mana bar. It was still more expensive than the individual ingredients alone, but it was a considerable discount when you added up the ingredients in the finished product. When she perfected the flavor, she announced to the dryad that she was done. The dryad smiled at her and nodded. The next thing Violet knew, she was kicked out of the mindscape. Congratulations, you have received the aspect for Create Food with synchronization starting at 8%. To return for more aspects, you must have a total of 8% synchronization for Nature.
After a promise to talk more at a later time with Alexandra, Violet was walking as fast as she could toward the palace exit. She would have been running if it had been allowed. The guards all knew her and let her pass unhindered. Her mother met her at the door to the estate. Violet would be having a conversation with her about keeping secrets after she had seen her father. He was her priority right now. ¡°How is he?¡± ¡°He is doing as well as can be expected. The healer gave him a sleeping potion so he could get some rest.¡± ¡°The queen allowed me to use the crystal at the palace so I could pick up Regrow - Skin.¡± ¡°Violet! That was dangerous. What happens when she tries to use you now?¡± ¡°Mom, I¡¯ll be alright. She''s known about me the whole time we¡¯ve been here. No, I didn''t tell her. Can we talk about this later? I want to heal dad.¡± Her father was peacefully sleeping on the bed when she entered the room. She was thankful for potions in this world. They could heal minor wounds, cure some poisons, put people to sleep, and a few other things. Her father¡¯s burns were too severe for a potion to help with anything more than pain and the speed of healing. Stepping up to the bed, she pulled the covers back and began to remove the bandage from his burns carefully. The burns were covered with a clear gel-like substance to help the dressing not stick and promote healing. She had not used her ability to regrow his skin yet, so she wanted to watch what she was doing. Healing had always come naturally for her. She was not sure how much of that was the knowledge she received with an aspect or just her advanced knowledge of the human body in general. Whichever it was, she was thankful that regrowing skin came easily for her. She started on his leg and slowly worked her way up to the more severe burns on his torso. They needed to give him another sleeping potion before she could finish healing her dad. While the ability came easily for her, it also consumed a large amount of mana. She now understood why Samuel didn''t just heal her dad for her. Between healing sessions with her dad, Violet confronted her mother. Her mother said the note she received said that ¡°Zarek was injured in an explosion and is currently with a healer.¡± It made sense for her mother not to share that information because it would have immediately had Violet out of bed and trying to tend to her father. Her mother did not know the severity of his injuries from the note and assumed being with a healer meant that he would be fine.
Crown City was hit pretty badly with the warehouse explosions. Dominion operatives destroyed the grain and corn storage and areas where smoked meat was kept. Thankfully, it was early in the harvest season, and very little of this year¡¯s crops had been stored in those locations yet. They did not hit every food stockpile, but it would be a lean winter if they didn''t have a good harvest. They also hit some crafting locations and workplaces. Violet¡¯s father was caught in the attack on the sawmill. She was thankful the attacks happened later in the day because her father would have died if he had not already been on his way home. He had a crafting space that doubled as his office next to the sawmill. Many people were not so lucky. It was odd for her not to see Regina showing up at her door at random times. Regina ended up being on ¡°house arrest,¡± as she called it, for a little over a week. When she did show up, Lyra had to point Regina in the right direction to find Violet.
Violet spent most of that time with the healers helping to save lives. There were several burn cases she was able to help with. The patients were all given sleeping potions before she attended them. After they had woken up, she would tell the patients that Samuel had come by to heal them. She didn''t need praise for doing what was right, and this way, it kept her secret for a little longer. A typical dual mage would not have access to the aspect to regrow skin. Using the method of knocking patients out with a sleep potion, Violet raised the synchronization of her healing aspects quickly. There were several fingers and toes that needed to be amputated that Violet was able to grow back using her new Regrow - Limb aspect. She also helped to heal a few wounds that had started to get infected, which raised her Cure Disease aspect. Most doctors never realized that Violet was not using modern magic to heal people. She was careful to always heal in private and had two trusted healers to watch her back for her. While Violet already knew the two people helping her, it was the Queen who had ordered them to secrecy. When Violet had first shown up at the healing tents, Henry handed her a note from the Queen. The note was short and to the point. Violet was to trust Henry and Megan to help her whenever she needed to use her newest aspects. They would shield her from others seeing what she was doing and keep her secret. Modern magic had healing spells, but most of those spells were the equivalent of her Lesser Heal aspect. There was no option to include some of the caster¡¯s vitality to help the patient when using this type of magic. There weren¡¯t any known modern spells to regrow things that had been lost. Being able to regrow skin, limbs, and eventually, organs was only something an ancient purist healing mage could do. The other aspect Violet had left to receive was Greater Heal. When she received that aspect, she could start healing as Samuel did. The difference between Lesser Heal and Greater Heal was one used the patient¡¯s resources to speed up healing, while the other used mana to heal even fatal injuries. The catch for healing fatal injuries was that the healer needed to attend to the person before they had died for the spell to work. When Regina finally located her in the healing tents, Violet had a lot on her mind. It was heartwrenching what had happened to so many innocents. That, coupled with her father getting caught in the attacks, caused a fire in her to start burning. Queen Alexandra had mentioned something about touring the ancient sites to help find answers, and it was something Violet felt she was well suited to do. Chapter 51 - Journey Preparations Two weeks after the initial attack, Violet was back at the palace to meet with the royal family. When she arrived, she was led into one of the gathering rooms. Regina met her at the door with a hug and then grabbed her hand and dragged her into the room. Alexandra, David, Rex, and Regina were the only people present in the room. They all seemed to be in good spirits, and David looked wholly healed from his ordeal. The room had several couches arranged to face a large fireplace. It was still far too warm for it to be lit, but it added to the room¡¯s beauty. A large rug was placed over the stone floors to help make the space more inviting. This room was one that the family favored because it was meant for comfort rather than to impress important guests. Violet had been here many times in the past, and the familiar setting put her at ease. Queen Alexandra started the tone with, ¡°I have received several ¡®thank you¡¯ letters from the common folk recently. The majority of them are thanking me for lending the royal healer to help with the healing efforts.¡± Violet blushed a little before responding, ¡°There was a need, and I wanted to heal as many people as I could. Thank you for finding a way for me to use all of my aspects.¡± ¡°But it is no secret that Violet has healing as her second school of magic. What am I missing?¡± Regina asked. ¡°It is time you started trusting us, Violet.¡± David put in. It was like a dam had broken, and she began to tell them everything about her magic. She did not tell them anything about being reborn or about Avery, but she tried to keep everything as close to the truth as she could. Alexandra and David had known the whole time she was in Kasmaya and had not taken advantage of her. She trusted Regina, and while she would not have told Rex on her own, he was in the room and trustworthy enough to know the secret. ¡°I¡¯ve had a few of my spies look into the story you told Regina when you had first arrived. I¡¯m glad to hear you did not lie to her back then and only omitted details. The spies all came back confirming your story.¡± Alexandra said when Violet had finished her tale. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure Divination has gone off twice since I have been here. Should I be worried?¡± ¡°From what I understand of the tools used to track Divination users, you will need to use it quite a few more times before they can narrow down your location. I wouldn''t be surprised if nobody was looking at the device the first time it went off, so all they knew was someone alive was using it. The second time will have clued them in on which direction to look but nothing more specific.¡± David said. ¡°I will do my best not to have my life in danger in the future so we can avoid any more pings on their device.¡± ¡°We will face anyone who comes looking for a Divination user together.¡± Alexandra started. Violet had one burning question that had been bugging her for a while now. ¡°How do I protect against someone using the same artifact you did to see my magic?¡± ¡°Trust is a two-way street. I will answer that. The only way I know to identify someone¡¯s magic is to use an artifact on someone within a mile of a crystal you have control over. The artifact we have can only be used once every four hours.¡± ¡°I was worried anyone with an artifact could find me just by using it on me. It would still probably be safer if I moved around more often. I would like your permission to tour the ancient sites and look for answers on how to counter that magic disruption device the Dominion used.¡± Violet said. ¡°We can make that happen. The ruins are home to some dangerous animals or protected by ancient barriers. We will send a small team to help you on your journey.¡± David said. ¡°I¡¯m going too,¡± Regina said. ¡°You are the crown princess. We¡¯ve discussed this, Regina. No unnecessary risks.¡± Alexandra snapped in response. ¡°Rex can rule if anything happens to me. There is nothing in our laws that says a woman must lead. It only says the firstborn child is the next in line for the throne.¡± David placed a hand over his face while listening to the two women argue. After twenty minutes of arguing, he spoke up. ¡°Alexandra, let her go. As a compromise, she will allow Zane to accompany them for protection.¡± ¡°But dad! Not Zane.¡± Regina whined. ¡°You could, of course, stay home. Alexandra, would that be an acceptable compromise?¡± David said. ¡°I don''t like her going at all, but if we are going to compromise, then Zane would be acceptable.¡± ¡°Who is Zane?¡± Violet quietly asked. ¡°Zane is an elite guard with access to ancient magic. While he is only a year older than Regina, he has proven to be one of the best guards in Kasmaya. Regina is whining because she knows he will insist on training you while on the road. Be ready for some bruises.¡± Rex enthusiastically put in. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Oh shut it, you are just excited because if Zane is on the trip with us, he can¡¯t knock you around¡­ I mean, train you anymore.¡± Regina replied. In the end, Regina agreed to Zane coming along. They decided it would be wiser to travel with fewer people to be less noticeable. Their trip would begin in three days. Violet was excited. She missed exploring the ancient ruin she had spent so much of her early childhood in and couldn¡¯t wait to see more of the old buildings. Her love of ancient buildings and learning about the past had never gone away. It turned out that Zane¡¯s schools of magic were Earth and Spatial. He would be handy to have around both as a pack mule and to build them shelter if they needed it. She didn¡¯t know anything about the other guard going on the trip with them, and she was looking forward to meeting them. Because they had three ancient magic users, the Queen felt it was safe only to have four people going on this trip. Secrecy would be their best defense.
There were a few things she needed to do before leaving for the trip. The first thing she did was inform Avery of her journey. Avery¡¯s response to her going on an extended trip was to have a young messenger bird accompany them on the trip. Most messenger birds had the attention span of a two-year-old, so Violet was interested to see how this would turn out. When the messenger bird arrived, it was not quite what Violet had expected. The bird introduced himself as Rio. He was the size of an average parrot and looked to be a miniature version of Rasmus. Black outlined his colorful blue and purple feathers. Rio did not have the complete rainbow, but he was no less beautiful. While Rio could talk, it was clear fairly early that he was not the sharpest tool in the shed. He was mainly helpful because he could remember and repeat any short message you gave him. Avery said in a note to think of him as a way to call for help. The next thing she needed to accomplish before leaving was to pick up another aspect for healing. Her time spent in the healing tents helped her raise her synchronization quicker than she usually would have.
[Magic]
Type % Aspect
Illusion 63% Tier 2 (9A) - Novice
Water 29% Tier 2 (9A) - Novice
Spatial 13% Tier 2 (9A) - Novice
Healing 59%
Healing 100% Analyze
Healing 72% Cure Disease
Healing 78% Cure Poison
Healing 100% Drain Life
Healing 100% Lesser Heal
Healing 23% Regrow - Limb
Healing 58% Regrow - Skin
Nature 1%
Nature 8% Create Food
With the secret of her magic being ¡°out¡± to the royal family, the queen allowed her to use the crystal in the palace to gain a new aspect. The puzzle granny gave her inside the mindscape required quite a bit of critical thinking and attention to detail to solve. The time freeze while in her mindscape was a godsend once again. She took her time and ensured she had the correct answers before submitting them. Congratulations, you have received the aspect for Regrow - Organ with synchronization starting at 11%. To return for more aspects, you must have a total of 64% synchronization for Healing. She hoped it would take her a long time to gain synchronization with her newest aspect. The only way to achieve levels was to use it, which would mean people were injured and possibly dying around her. If it meant people were safe, she was willing to wait to level her healing up.
Packing for the journey was a lot harder than Violet expected it to be. The crown was in charge of food, potions, and any money they would need for the trip. Violet needed to decide how much she could carry and how much of her mana pool she was willing to tie up storing things in Void Storage. She settled on keeping extra weapons, a change of clothing, and some money in her Void Storage. Those items tied up a quarter of her mana pool. She did not pack any emergency food because she could produce it if things became dire. It meant draining her mana pool, but she was not traveling alone, so she felt safe to do so if needed. Clothing, an extra pair of shoes, and a bedroll were the main things she would be carrying in her bag. In addition to those, she packed some rope, a sewing kit, a lightweight tool kit, and extra waterskins. After packing her bag, she spent the rest of the evening before the trip with her parents. Her mother was not happy with her decision to visit the ancient sites. They had talked it over for the last few days, and her upset was mostly because Violet was possibly placing herself in danger. Her father had been reticent since the attack and his injury. She could heal his physical wounds, but all of his research and designs had burned in the explosion. He could start again, but years of work were hard to reproduce from memory. Violet thought that was just an excuse to hide that the blast had scared him, and he was still working through his mental trauma of being so close to death. Seeing her father so sullen just firmed her resolve to find whatever she could to help win this newly started war with the Dominion. There may not be soldiers at the front gate, but it was only a matter of time. She wanted to ensure they had a counter to the magic disruption weapon before it was too late. Chapter 52 - The Journey Begins Violet got up before the sun the next day. The excitement of the upcoming trip made it nearly impossible for her to sleep. She woke up several times worried that she would be late getting to the palace. They would meet their fourth team member at the royal stables. Regina was picking on her by withholding information about their fourth member. All Violet knew was that his name was Rick, and he trained Zane while he was growing up. It seemed the Queen was not taking any chances with the safety of this mission. An elite guard was the equivalent of ten regular fighters. She wouldn''t be surprised if Zane was worth more because he had ancient magic on his side. Rather than roll over and attempt to get back to sleep, Violet decided it was time to get up and get dressed for her trip. While dresses were what most women wore, it thankfully wasn¡¯t taboo for them to wear pants. It was expected for women traveling to be wearing pants simply for practicality. The clothes she picked for this trip were something you would see any traveler wearing throughout the queendom. They wanted to blend in as much as possible, so she put on a pair of brown leather pants, knee-high black boots, and a tan loose-fitting cotton-like shirt. It was still warm out, but she made sure to pack clothing for the colder weather. She would decide if she wanted a cloak on when she went outside. No matter how much Violet ate and worked out, she could not gain weight. Looking in the mirror, she hoped she was just a late bloomer. Her chest was small enough not to require a breast band which Violet loved and hated at the same time. She styled her long blonde hair in a french braid that reached her lower back. Rubber bands had not been invented on Zogara yet, so she tied it off with a small leather strap. She grabbed her bag and headed for the door. Based on the weight of her backpack, she wouldn''t be surprised if she ended up tossing more items in her Void Storage. Hopefully, the crown had come up with a solution for transporting their things. Based on where they were meeting, she was hopeful that they would at least have one amberclaw to help them carry items. Last night before bed, she had said goodbye to her parents because she was leaving so early. She was going to miss the comforts of having an actual bed to sleep in at night. Regina promised to bring a map with her that they could bring for reference. From what Violet understood, they would be sleeping on the road quite a bit during their trip. It was about a half-hour before the sun would rise, and the landscape was saturated with bluish light. She was thankful for the light because it helped her navigate the cobblestone road leading up to the palace. The castle was the largest structure in all of Crown City, but it was still only about half the size of the largest ancient building in the Dominion. She was not the first member of their party to reach the stables, to her surprise. Zane was standing outside the stables talking to the largest beastkin she had ever seen. Regina had introduced her to Zane yesterday when she had dropped by to receive another aspect. Zane was easy to talk to and had a smile that could light up a room. His wavy blond hair and ice-blue eyes made her heart melt. It was clear he did not skimp on training by his physique. He had a toned body with well-defined muscles that were not over-the-top. She was reserving her judgment until she knew him a little better, but she may have just found her first crush on Zogara. Zane waved at her and introduced his companion when she approached the pair. ¡°Hi Violet, I¡¯d like you to meet my mentor and our traveling companion, Rick. Rick, this is Violet. She is one of the reasons the Queen made us sign secrecy contracts.¡± ¡°Hello! It¡¯s nice to meet you, Rick.¡± She said and nodded at him. Handshakes were a thing from Earth that did not translate over to Zogara. It was considered polite to nod in greeting or when introduced to someone. Violet found it interesting that Alexandra did not have her sign a contract. Perhaps the main secret was her uniqueness, and the Queen felt it wasn¡¯t required. Rick was a poster child for how she pictured a beefcake. He was at least seven feet tall with a muscular body. His legs, arms, and upper chest were large, but it was clear they would not hinder him if he needed to move quickly. His face was primarily human, with a larger than average nose and rounded bear ears on the sides of his head. There was also black fur covering what she could see of his entire body. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. He grunted at her in greeting. ¡°Don''t mind Rick. He can speak, but we usually have to drag the words out of him,¡± Zane said good-naturedly. Regina chose that moment to arrive, leading a procession of servants carrying several bags. ¡°Oh good, we are all here. Mom was able to procure a merchant cart with an amberclaw team for us.¡± They all followed Regina to a large wagon. There was a covered seat for the driver and a passenger to sit in the front. Behind the seat was a wooden window that could be opened to speak to those riding in the back. The only entrance to the eleven-foot area in the back was from the wagon¡¯s rear. There was a door that opened down to form a ramp. When she looked inside, it was a large open box. Rick would need to duck every time he entered because it was a little over six feet tall and seven feet wide. Along both sides, several shelves could fold out. During the day, some shelves could be used as a bench to sit on with access to a table. Two larger shelves would hold a bedroll for people to sleep on at night. The majority of their supplies were packed under a net on top of the wagon. After Regina¡¯s workers were finished, the carriage had gained two extra feet in height. Violet hoped they did not plan on going through any heavily forested areas. There was nothing small about their home away from home. ¡°Carriages this big aren¡¯t often made. It requires two amberclaws to pull, and the only way you can get an amberclaw close to another of their kind is to have a mated pair.¡± Regina said once the grooms went to retrieve their animals. The two beasts that were led out to the wagon were beautiful. Tamed amberclaws were intelligent creatures that loved to be near people. Their wild cousins would gladly eat someone for a meal, but those tamed were an asset to any journey. Depending on the level of training, they doubled as another guard and could help with defense. The large cats were introduced to each member of their party. They were a mated pair named Raya and Hunter. Both animals had a black fur coats. Reya had electric blue and green lines along her legs and a few lines along her back. In contrast, Hunter had white spots on his chest and brown marks along his legs. Regina had started to cry when the animals were brought out of the stable. She tried to hide it, but nobody was fooled. When Violet asked what was wrong, Regina said, ¡°Those are the mated pair Louis tamed with his Nature magic. He is the only one of us kids that took after mom and started with Nature magic. We still don''t know what Rex will get for his second school of magic.¡± ¡°We will get justice by finding a way to neutralize their new weapon and destroy them on the battlefield,¡± Zane said while Rick nodded along with a hard look in his eye. ¡°Ok, let us get moving. We will have two days roughing it on the road before reaching a town along our route. I was able to procure a map of our destinations.¡± Regina said to distract herself. ¡°Each dot represents around three to four hours of travel time. If we keep that pace, our travel alone will take us 112 days. How long we stop at each site will depend on what we find. My mom expects our journey to last around six months or 240 days.¡± That reminded Violet that Zogara had 480 day years instead of the 365 from Earth. She was sixteen on Zogara, but she would be twenty-one on Earth. It seemed that Zogarans aged slower than people from Earth because Violet was still experiencing her teenaged growth spurts. After looking at the map, Violet added the aviary and the ancient site located there to her mental map. For some reason, Regina¡¯s map did not have them marked. If Violet had to guess, that was Avery¡¯s doing. That bird valued her secrecy. Thinking of Avery somehow caused Rio to appear. After making his introductions, he had found ways to entertain himself away from Violet. She was happy to see he was still around if she needed help. He flew down and perched himself on top of their carriage, ready for the adventure to begin. Rick stepped up into the driver¡¯s seat when they were ready to leave. This, of course, caused Zane and Regina to argue over who got to ride in the passenger seat. Violet stood off to the side to watch the duo butt heads. It only took a few minutes before Rick said in a gruff voice, ¡°Zane front, Regina too noticeable.¡± Regina joined Violet in the back of the vehicle with a pout while the boys drove them out of the city, heading southeast across the river. Chapter 53 - On The Road While the boys were in the front, Violet and Regina were in the back studying the map. ¡°I hadn¡¯t realized there were so many ancient sites scattered about,¡± Violet said. ¡°There are likely more in harder-to-reach places we have not discovered yet. As it is, sites two and seven are partially flooded.¡± ¡°Should I make water-breathing enchants for everyone? I should be able to create a necklace for the three of you to use. They won¡¯t last more than a few hours, but I can make multiples to have a backup.¡± ¡°It is still hard for me to wrap my head around how much of a monster you are, Vi. Mom provided one artifact for water breathing for us to share, but having one for each person sounds like a much better option.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a monster. The nature guardian even confirmed that my Limitless trait was not unique, just rare.¡± Violet said with a pout. ¡°How have I missed it all this time that you can do more than you should?¡± After a pause, Violet replied, ¡°Several reasons. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve messed up over the years and done something I shouldn''t have. The human mind sees what it wants to see. You knew I could do Illusion and Healing magic, so when something didn''t fit in that box, you subconsciously explained it away somehow. It helps that I didn''t screw up too much around you.¡± ¡°Yes, well, I am still hurt that you didn''t tell me.¡± It pulled at Violet¡¯s heartstrings to see the pain in Regina¡¯s eyes over the deception. ¡°No more secrets about my magic. I promise.¡± After a nod from Regina, Violet continued. ¡°What other dangers can we expect on this trip?¡± ¡°We will be able to follow roads for a lot of our trip. We will ride a ferry between sites two and three to speed our journey a little. Many ancient locations have been destroyed and are infested with magical creatures. Those that weren¡¯t destroyed have some kind of barrier around them that makes people sick if they stay inside for too long.¡± ¡°I wonder if it is the same barrier like the one I was around in the Dominion.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get an answer to that question in a few days. The first ancient site on our list has a barrier around it.¡± ¡°Is there a reason we are visiting the destroyed sites? That almost feels like a waste of time.¡± ¡°It will add time on to our journey, but not too much. We need to visit sites one, six, and eight. Skipping site three has merits, but we will discuss it when we get closer.¡±
They stopped for the night in a camping area that caravans regularly used. An earthen wall surrounded the space creating a giant ¡°C¡± shape. The opening to the wall was facing the road and wide enough to fit several wagons side by side. They still needed to keep someone on watch, but it was safer inside the walled-off area. Near the wall where they stopped was a fenced-off portion with a gate meant to house amberclaws overnight. Raya and Hunter were purring when Rick let them loose inside the paddock. The pair of amberclaws had pulled the wagon all day, yet they still had enough energy to run around a little once released. ¡°How can they have so much energy?¡± ¡°We have been following a road and allowing them to pull at a slow pace. There is no point in tiring the beasts out to reach this place a little earlier. It will get harder for them once we have to leave the road.¡± Zane explained. ¡°Dinner is ready!¡± Regina called out. Dinner turned out to be cold sandwiches filled with meat and cheese. Regina had packed enough fresh food to last until they reached the next small town on their route. They would restock in each city, but they also had an ample supply of jerky and travel food that would keep well if it was needed. ¡°Now for the fun part! Come on, ladies, let¡¯s whip you into shape.¡± Zane said with an evil grin. Regina groaned and dragged Violet over to the clearing where Rick and Zane started their stretches. ¡°Follow along and do what I do, if we are lucky, he will take it easy on us tonight.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°I already know what Regina can do. She will pair up with Rick to spar. Violet, you¡¯re mine tonight.¡± Zane said. Once her muscles were sufficiently warmed up, Zane tossed her a stick and began to spar with Violet. He started slow, allowing Violet to show off that she was not a complete newbie when using a sword. Unfortunately, Zane cranked up the difficulty until she was out of breath and had several new bruises. By the end of their match, Violet wondered how she had ever thought he was handsome. Zane was a monster that liked to painfully correct her mistakes. He wasn¡¯t even breathing hard when the spar ended. ¡°Not bad for someone who didn''t grow up holding a blade. We¡¯ll knock some of those bad habits you¡¯ve picked up out of your head soon enough.¡± Zane said after their bout. ¡°You, sir, are a monster.¡± Violet groaned. When she looked over at Regina, the girl was covered in just as many bruises as Violet was. ¡®So much for taking it easy on us.¡¯ Violet thought while using her magic to heal her sore spots. She then walked over to where Regina had dramatically fallen and healed her as well. ¡°Thanks, Vi! You¡¯re a lifesaver!¡± Regina said from her position on the ground. Rick just shook his head, grunted, and walked away at the princess¡¯s antics. ¡°Neither one of them even broke a sweat. We need to do better, Vi,¡± Regina said with resolve. She then started sniffing the air and made a face. ¡°Could you do something about the smell?¡± Within moments, dirt, grime, and sweat began to fall off the girls. Their clothing was once again pristine if a bit rumpled. Violet grinned at Regina and whispered, ¡°Let¡¯s see how long until the boys beg to be clean.¡± ¡°Do you know nothing about men? They would roll in mud and wear it for a week if we let them. Go clean them up, even if it doesn¡¯t look like they need it. The jerks.¡± The girls were laughing when they joined the other two at the campfire. ¡°So mom had you sign a secrecy contract. One of the secrets you two will need to keep is the fact that our dear Violet here is special.¡± That statement resulted in looks of confusion from both Zane and Rick. ¡°Well, I know she isn¡¯t special with a sword. So please tell us what we have missed.¡± Zane replied. Regina was about to respond when Rio began squawking loudly, ¡°intruder! Intruder!¡± Violet had almost forgotten the bird was still around. Zane nodded to Rick, and the beastkin sprinted off in the direction that Rio was flying. The furry man was a blur of motion as he ran to catch the intruder. What surprised Violet was the intruder managed to outrun Rick and get away from him. When Rick returned, he was still breathing heavily. ¡°Chased one, lost in trees.¡± ¡°Well, this complicates things. It appears our trip was not kept a secret for long. We will need to use the perimeter stones tonight, so we have a warning if anyone comes near.¡± Zane said. ¡°I¡¯ll take first watch, then Zane, Rick, followed by Violet. With the perimeter set up, we need to keep an eye out for anything odd. We will share secrets when we get on the road tomorrow and are less likely to be overheard.¡± Regina said. Violet and Zane chose to place their bedrolls underneath the fold-out beds. Violet¡¯s was placed under Regina, while Zane placed his underneath Rick. There was enough clearance below the beds for them not to feel claustrophobic. Violet cooked porridge for breakfast while she was on watch. In addition to what they had packed, Violet conjured raspberries to go in their morning meal. ¡°Oh wow, Vi! This is amazing. You just earned yourself cooking duties! I don''t even remember raspberries being in our food supplies. Wait, raspberries aren¡¯t in season this time of year.¡± Regina looked at her sideways. ¡°I needed to practice, and I didn''t think anyone would complain,¡± Violet replied. ¡°No complaints here!¡± Zane said with a giant smile. ¡°I¡¯m always happy to travel with a nature mage.¡± Surprisingly it was Rick who spoke up with a grunt. ¡°Violet is Illusion and Healing, idiot. Is this how you are special?¡± She nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, I am Illusion, Water, Spatial, Healing, and Nature. I only have one aspect for Nature, but I am working on getting more. Before you ask, I have nine aspects in all but Healing and Nature.¡± Zane¡¯s response was, ¡°Well, your training just got a whole lot harder. I will push you until you are using as many of your aspects as possible to protect yourself. You will hate me worse than Regina does when I am through with you.¡± He said, chuckling at his joke.
The next day and night on the road were uneventful. On the third day of their travel, they stopped overnight in a small farming town. The town only had a tavern with an inn attached and a general store. All of the other buildings were houses for the farming families. Violet was pleased to find the inn was in good repair and relatively clean. They ate dinner in the tavern and rented two rooms for the night. While the beds looked clean, Violet made sure to cast cleanse on all of their bedding before they slept for the night. Thankfully, very little dirt needed to be removed. After leaving the town, they made good time to the first ancient site on their list. They elected to camp right outside of the barrier before going further on the second night. It was late, and nobody wanted to stay any longer than they had to inside the ancient border. Chapter 54 - Site One Somehow, Violet always managed to get assigned the final watch duty of the night. She had gotten in the habit of practicing the use of Create Food while she was on watch. Rio was always awake when she was on lookout duty and was a far better watch bird than she could be. The first site wasn¡¯t far from a well-traveled road, so they had made good time and encountered very few magical beasts. The two they had seen were easily scared off and had not attacked them. Violet had only heard about the beasts after they stopped for the night because she had been inside the wagon. A mountain range to the east of their current location was doing an excellent job of hiding the sun. Usually, they would have already eaten and been on the road by now. They had camped within sight of the barrier last night, and Violet was itching to see what they could find in the ancient ruins. ¡°Good Morning!¡± Zane called out with far too much cheer. Violet responded in kind and then grinned at him when she heard Regina groaning from inside the wagon. Zane had been purposely loud to get the other two members of their party moving. ¡°I was able to perfect my pancake batter this morning, so breakfast is pancakes with blueberries,¡± Violet said as he sat down at the table. Zane had gotten in the habit of raising a stone table and four stools for them to sit around every time they stopped for the night. ¡°Marry me!¡± Zane jokingly replied. The way to his heart was clearly through his stomach. ¡°You are far too mean to marry. Do you know how many bruises you gave me last night? My healing spells are getting a workout around you.¡± Violet replied, referring to their daily training sessions. ¡°Well, if you blocked or dodged better, you wouldn''t have those bruises now, would you?¡± It didn¡¯t take long after Zane¡¯s wake-up call for the other two members of their party to join them. Waking up to a freshly cooked breakfast was something they looked forward to. ¡°Not that I¡¯m complaining, Vi, but is it wise to drain your mana to make food for us while you are on watch?¡± Regina said once everyone had finished eating. ¡°Fruit is fairly cheap for me to conjure, and I only needed to create milk, butter, and eggs for the pancakes. We have flour, sugar, and salt in our food supplies. This meal only cost a little over half of my mana pool to make.¡± ¡°You really are a monster. Your Wisdom must be off the charts for your age. Alright, just don''t ever drain your mana over two-thirds without letting us know. Practicing magic is important, but we are in hostile territory.¡± Regina replied. Violet blushed and looked at her current status. She had used skill points in Mana Manipulation, Mana Regeneration, and Mental Notes to bring them over the skill test barrier. Until she found another skill she needed, she would hold on to her remaining two skill points. The skill barrier made it more difficult for her to quickly gain overall levels. Zane was helping quite a bit with her Swords and Small Blades skills, but more work would be needed to achieve any more levels.
Level 27
Age 16
Experience (17290/37800)
Health 870/870
Mana 1910/1910
Stat Points 0
Skill Points 2
Strength 50
Constitution 87
Dexterity 50
Intelligence 191
Wisdom 191
[Contracts] [Magic] [Skills] [Storage] [Traits] ¡°You know it is quite rude to ask someone else what their stats are, your highness,¡± Violet replied tartly, earning her a hand sign from Regina that was far from ladylike. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Pfft, I didn''t ask. If you start calling me that, I¡¯m going to make up a nickname you won¡¯t like!¡± ¡°Ok, enough children. Let¡¯s get moving.¡± Rick said while walking toward the amberclaws. If he had looked back, he would have seen three shocked faces caused by the number of words he said without being forced. All banter ceased when they reached the barrier. Rio found a tree outside and refused to follow the party inside. The amberclaws both started to whine, and the humans were all sick to their stomachs. ¡°This barrier is MUCH stronger than the one I grew up in,¡± Violet said with a grumble. ¡°The reports we have on this site say that only one room is accessible inside the ruins. We will likely look and then head on to the next site. The amberclaws will start to revolt if we take too long.¡± Regina said. ¡°Splitting the party is not a good idea, and leaving them unattended outside the barrier is just begging for them to be stolen,¡± Zane added. When the ancient site came into view, Violet was shocked at how small it was. From what she could see, it was smaller than the barracks buildings had been. The building was still pyramid-shaped, with an entrance near the top. When Violet touched the wall on the climb to the top, the building gave off a little bit of heat similar to stone that had been baking in the sun all day. The problem was, it was still reasonably early in the morning, and the building had not had time to gain this much heat from the sun yet. Once inside the building, their nausea began to increase. Violet went from feeling light seasickness to rough waters, going to hurl at any moment sick. The room that was open to them was thirty-foot by thirty-foot with no visible doors anywhere. An oversized blank slate in the middle of the room drew everyone¡¯s attention. Zane was the first person to set off the domino effect. When he began to throw up, the smell caused everyone else to empty their bellies¡¯ contents. After rinsing their mouths with water, they continued their trek to the only fixture in the room. Even the walls were left bare. Violet was the first to arrive at the slate. She immediately started examining the decorative scrollwork around the edges of the slate for the power switch. When she located the hidden text, the slate came to life with a menu written in Runic. Usually, menus were written in English for Violet, so this was new. ¡°What does it say?¡± Regina prompted after Violet stared at the slate for a little too long. ¡°Oh, sorry, it is the most flowery wording I have ever read in Runic before. To sum it up, it says ¡®Fire Magic-Users Only.¡¯¡± ¡°Why are there so many symbols for four words?¡± Zane asked. ¡°It is a whole bunch of random symbols. I think you need a cipher to read it. It would not surprise me if the ciphers were only given to people who belonged here. The only phrase that makes sense to me on this board is the Fire only phrase.¡± Violet said. ¡°We¡¯ll have to come back when you gain access to Fire magic. For now, let us leave before we lose any more of our stomach contents.¡± Regina said. The quartet left the building and the barrier much faster than they had entered it. Rick had to slow the amberclaws down on multiple occasions while leaving. Upon exiting the border, they were greeted by Rio screeching, ¡°INTRUDERS INTRUDERS.¡± An arrow flew towards where Rio was flying, but he dodged it. He then flew a distance away and settled on a branch to watch. The bird had given them quite a few intruder warnings over their travel, but this was the first time their pursuers were so visible. A large man holding a crossbow began to speak. ¡°Howdy, folks! I reckon you are quite sick about now. Going in them there ruins is right stupid. Waste not want not. Step away from the wagon, and we will allow you to live.¡± Zane whispered under his breath to Rick, ¡°Bandits, wonderful. How many do you count?¡± ¡°Five on the road, two more in the trees,¡± Rick replied. ¡°Me too. Girls, can you take care of the crossbowman in the trees, please? Rick and I will handle these.¡± Violet exited the wagon and walked left while Regina took a right. As soon as Zane gave the word, they all jumped into action. The guy Violet was sent to take care of was holding a crossbow and was relatively high up in a tree. Rather than do anything flashy, she used Telekinesis to steal the crossbow from him and then slowly walked toward the tree the bandit was in. Before she had gotten a chance to get near him, he jumped from the tree and landed awkwardly on his back. She rolled her eyes and kept her distance from the man. He may not have a crossbow anymore, but he could still have throwing knives and other weapons. Her job was to disable the attacker, and he was not going anywhere anytime soon. Looking back at the road, the bandits were all either disarmed, heavily injured, or dead. On the other side, Regina¡¯s target had not survived. Regina needed to be more aggressive because she didn''t have a way of effectively removing the weapon. ¡°Go help Zane. I¡¯ll watch this one,¡± Rick said. When she reached Zane, she was shocked to see he was bleeding from a cut on one of his arms. ¡°How on Zogara did a bandit manage to hit the mighty Zane?¡± Violet said as she came up and cast analyze and then heal on him. She made a point of always analyzing a patient before healing to make sure she was not missing a more significant problem that healing would not fix. If someone were sliced with a poisoned knife, she would need to remove the poison before healing them. Zane pointed to one of the bandits and said, ¡°That one is a mage. He managed to slice me with some kind of wind spell.¡± As Violet was working on healing the bandits that Zane had placed handcuffs on, Regina said. ¡°Including the one Violet had incapacitated, only four of the seven bandits survived the fight. It looks like we¡¯ll need to make a detour south to drop these gentlemen off before we continue our journey.¡± It was fascinating to watch Zane work with Earth magic. After retrieving a bar of iron from their wagon, he manipulated it into four sets of handcuffs. The only way to remove the handcuffs was by sawing them off or having another Earth manipulator take them off. Sawing them off was not recommended as it often left the person bleeding. Each peacekeeper or guard post was required to have at least one modern mage with the ability to manipulate stone and metal. It was a crowded ride down to the closest town. Thankfully, they were able to make it to the small town a little after the sunset. They decided to push the amberclaws to make the journey in one day so they would not need to guard or feed prisoners for any longer than necessary. When they reached the town, the guard captain was happy to see them. ¡°We¡¯ve been chasing this group for a while now. They usually attack unarmed carriages or peasants.¡± ¡°They thought barrier sickness would be enough to slow us down, apparently. Their loss.¡± Zane said. The innkeeper offered them rooms free of charge that night as a reward for bringing in the brigands. While they were all happy to have a real bed to sleep on, they were sad they didn''t have any results to show on their quest yet. Tomorrow they would be on the road again, heading to the second site. Chapter 55 - Port Maya The quartet was back on the road and heading to the nearest river crossing along their route as soon as the sun began to rise the following day. They were all a little tired from the events of the previous day, so nobody was in a particularly talkative mood as they pulled away from the small lakeside town. Over the next five days, the group fell into a routine, and each member was assigned tasks to accomplish throughout the day. Violet was always on the last watch of the night and was tasked with cooking breakfast each morning. When there weren¡¯t any water sources, she filled up the water barrels throughout the day. Her Cleanse aspect saved them the trouble of boiling water found while on the road. After the first day, they left the road and traveled on an open grass prairie. The ground was not completely flat. There were gently rolling hills throughout their trip. Wildflowers, grass, and a random tree here or there were all that could be seen for miles in any direction. ¡°Why aren¡¯t there more towns in this area? It is beautiful here.¡± Violet asked Zane while he was driving, and it was her turn to be in the passenger¡¯s seat. ¡°This is snake country. They aren¡¯t all venomous, but the ones that are will kill you within a half-hour without anti-venom. They live in burrows in the ground and hunt the rodents.¡± ¡°Hopefully, we won¡¯t need to use it, but I can use Cure Poison on anyone if they are bitten. Thanks for ruining this prairie for me. Now all I¡¯ll do is look out and try to see snakes.¡± Zane began to chuckle and said, ¡°pleased to be of service, ma¡¯am.¡± and tipped his hat at her. ¡°So, what¡¯s your story? Why is an ancient mage an elite guardsman instead of living the life of a pampered noble?¡± After a pause long enough that Violet thought he wouldn''t answer the question, he said, ¡°It¡¯s complicated.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t pry. We all have our secrets.¡± There was about an hour of comfortable silence after she asked that question before Zane answered her question. ¡°My family owned a plot of land along the Astresh border. We weren¡¯t high-ranking nobles, but we made a decent profit off our lands and holdings.¡± He paused, looking stuck in some bad memories. ¡°I was five when our home was attacked and burned to the ground. When my father knew they would breach our defenses, he took me to a hideout I had carved with Stone Manipulation and told me to fuse the door closed and hide the entrance. He would come back for me when it was safe. He never came back. I sat in that hole for three days until my food and water ran out before I disobeyed my father and left the refuge.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. I didn''t know. Were your parents not also ancient mages?¡± She asked. ¡°No, I was the first in my line to be born with an ancient symbol. Anyway, Rick found me and started training me to fight so I would never have to feel helpless again.¡± ¡°Darn right, I did,¡± Rick spoke from the top of the carriage, startling them both. ¡°How is it that someone as large as you can move so stealthily? I didn''t even notice the wagon sway when you climbed on top of it.¡± Zane demanded. ¡°Ancient Bearkin secret.¡± ¡°Like heck it is! I¡¯ve seen your kin move, those in the guard. They are nowhere near as stealthy as you can be.¡± Speaking to Violet, he said, ¡°you see what I have to put up with? He won¡¯t teach me because he doesn¡¯t want me to be able to sneak up on him.¡± The only response from Rick was a grunt followed by a snore a few minutes later. Rick liked to nap on the wagon¡¯s roof during the day to pass the time.
The first time they crossed over the Crown River, it was as easy as driving over a large bridge. Unfortunately, the small city of Alexton did not have a bridge to cross the river. The quartet needed to hire the services of a ferryman to get over the river. The man they found owned a boat large enough to fit four of the carriages they had. This, of course, was the issue because his boat could hold so much. He didn¡¯t want to leave until his ship was at minimum halfway full. It was Regina¡¯s time to shine. Without revealing her identity, she managed to haggle that poor ferryman down from charging double his usual fees to giving them a discount. Rio helped get them the deal. He had flown across the river and confirmed several wagons on the opposite bank waiting for passage. Before leaving Alexton, Regina hired a messenger bird to deliver their progress to her mother. She wanted to do that back at the lakeside town where they dropped the bandits off, but there weren¡¯t any available birds when she asked. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Smaller towns often hosted the birds, but they could usually only lure in a few. The birds were curious creatures, and the larger cities had more going on in them. Messenger birds flew messages back and forth because it amused them. There was no way to force a bird to stay if it did not want to. ¡°The messenger birds are quite chatty with each other. If it ever becomes known that a bird was held against its will, all messenger birds would refuse to fly to the location of the offense.¡± Regina had said when she couldn¡¯t find a bird in the first city. ¡°I¡¯ve heard rumors that one of Astresh¡¯s gods is in the likeness of a messenger bird. It is a grave offense to kill any bird in that country.¡± Zane piped up.
After four days of travel, the group was finally in sight of Port Maya. The ferry ride, their trip was along a well-traveled road patrolled by the guard. It had taken their mysterious follower two days to catch up with them after they crossed the river. They still didn''t know who was following them, or if it was even the same person, but it was annoying always to feel like they were being watched. Port Maya was a unique town. It was built along a cliff face with over one hundred docks reaching out into the bay. Maya was an ancient earth purist that made it her life¡¯s work to carve a city into the cliffs. Violet was pleased to hear that Maya was still among the living. ¡°She is very old these days, but she was blessed with a grandchild who will be taking up her earth purist mantle to continue to grow the city. We will have to see if we can meet her while we are here.¡± Regina said as they stopped at the city gate. The port city¡¯s gates were seven miles away from the cliff face. The streets were lined with inns and stores featuring crafted goods. The few houses that could be seen were wealthy mansions with walls surrounding them. ¡°Where are all of the houses?¡± Violet asked when all she could see were merchants and people offering services. ¡°This top-level is reserved for wealthy nobles and merchants. Several floors below us are carved into the rock that hosts most of the community. Maya¡¯s son is a Nature and Air mage, and he has created some breathtaking green areas below ground.¡± Regina said with a smile. Once the group dropped off their wagon and checked into their rooms at the inn, they split up to explore. Or rather, Rick went his own way. Zane decided it would be unsafe to leave the two of them unsupervised. ¡°What if you come back after shopping and poor Raya and Hunter can no longer pull the carriage because it is so weighed down? No way I am leaving you two alone.¡± He said very loudly. Quietly under his breath, he said, ¡°A city like this is far from safe. I will never hear the end of it from your mother if you two get mugged. Plus, it would blow our cover if you had to use your magic.¡± The trio had a fun time entering each of the shops along the main road. These shops held expensive foreign goods shipped in from all over. Violet¡¯s favorite shop had delicate glass figurines. Pigments were added to the glass while it was shaped, so each figure looked lifelike. Once they got tired of window shopping, they entered the underground portion of the city. Directly around the staircase, several merchants sold foodstuffs. There were also several restaurants along the main streets. On the top level, only citizens were allowed in the housing areas. The guards were quite firm when they asked that only citizens were allowed, and trespassers would immediately be arrested if found in places they should not be. ¡°That¡¯s ok, let¡¯s go to the park on this level. It is my favorite memory from when I visited this place as a young girl.¡± Regina said, dragging the two of them in a new direction. Zane was in guard mode the entire time they had been in the city. While he did look inside the stores with them, he was more interested in keeping an eye on the people around them instead of what was on the shelves. They ended up needing to go down another flight of stairs to reach the green area Regina was talking about. Along the way, mirrors were used to light the underground passageways. Violet was shocked at how well they lit the place up with light. There were torches along the walls for when the sun went down, but they were currently unlit. When they reached the grassy area, both Violet and Zane stood in shock at what they saw. Flower-covered vines covered the walls around the room. There had to be at least two football fields worth of space inside the area, and it was all covered with grass. Fruit trees were lined up in a grove off to one side, and she could see several kids running and playing in them. ¡°Not something you see every day, eh?¡± A random gentleman said from one side. ¡°No, Gerald, only you could create such a masterpiece,¡± Regina replied absently. ¡°When the guard came to me claiming a royal was in Port Maya, I told him he was mistaken. A royal would have announced their presence at the gate if that were, in fact, true. What, my dear Regina, are you doing here?¡± He said. Regina turned pale for a moment and then responded, ¡°Greetings Gerald, we are on an undercover mission and only passing through for the night.¡± ¡°My mother would have my head if she knew little Regina was here and didn''t see her. Come along. She is having a rough day and could use a bit of cheer. If you plan to keep your identities a secret, I would raise your hood. That red hair of yours can be spotted from a mile away.¡± As they followed Gerald, Regina whispered to Zane and Violet. ¡°Gerald is Maya¡¯s son.¡± Gerald opened a secret doorway in the back of one of the restaurants on the main thoroughfare. It was not exactly like the doors in the ancient ruins, but it was not too far off by Violet¡¯s estimation. The room they eventually ended up in was directly on the cliff face. Floor-to-ceiling windows were looking out at the bay. ¡®Sunrises must be amazing in this room,¡¯ Violet thought. The oldest woman Violet had seen in person was seated in a padded rocking chair that faced the windows. Her wrinkles had wrinkles. Magic was likely the only reason this woman was still alive. ¡°Who did you bring, Gerald?¡± she said in a low voice. ¡°Remember little Regina? I caught her sneaking around the port and figured I should bring her here so you could dish out the punishment.¡± For being as old as she was, Maya retained her mental faculties. ¡°Young lady, come here and tell me about your adventures.¡± They spent several hours talking with Maya until they finally begged off to get some rest for the night. Healing magic could cure many things, but age was not one of them. Her body was wearing out, and even a purist healer could only prolong life for so long. She had been a pleasure to talk to. When they arrived back at the inn, Rick asked if they had gotten lost. He also wanted to know if they had bought out the city. It seemed the more you were around the big oaf, the more he decided to speak. Chapter 56 - Traveling To Site Two A messenger bird was waiting for Regina when they woke up the following day. The message was written in code, but it contained no real secrets. The queen would like them to continue their journey. There was also an extra piece of interesting news that did not affect them. Kasmaya wasn¡¯t the only country plagued with Chromatic Dominion sabotage and spies. Reports were coming in from Astresh of several explosions in their capital. ¡°Why send a message like that in code? There wasn¡¯t any secret information in it.¡± She asked Regina. ¡°Mom sends all messages in code. That way, nobody can tell which ones have the sensitive information.¡± At breakfast, Zane grumbled every time someone tried to talk to him. He looked like he had not slept at all. His clothes were wrinkled, and his charming smile was missing. ¡°Did you go out partying while you were supposed to be getting some rest?¡± Violet asked, happy to mess with her tormentor while he was susceptible. ¡°Do you have any idea how loud Rick can snore? The whole room was vibrating from the sound.¡± He growled in response. Rick looked up from his meal and then shrugged. ¡°Warned him to get the noise canceling ear covers.¡± ¡°Enchants don''t grow on trees! The only ear covers I could find were single-use only, and those were expensive. How was I to know you would snore so badly EVERY time you found a proper bed?¡± Zane whined. ¡°Drink a wake-up potion and quit complaining,¡± Regina said in annoyance. It was amusing for Violet to see Zane so grouchy. Every evening, he made a point of giving her new bruises. His training ramped up to the point where she constantly pushed her limits to keep up with him. The group made their way to the Port Maya gate and headed northeast. They could follow a dirt road for three of the four days it would take them to get to the second ancient site on their map. The road was far less traveled because it only led to smaller fishing towns. When they stopped for the night, there weren¡¯t any walls to shelter them for the night. Zane needed to raise barrier walls to keep them sheltered for the night. ¡°Ok, Violet, time for some group magic training. Do you know how to share your mana for others to use?¡± He asked her while raising markers for where the walls would go. ¡°I have donated mana to spells cast on fields before. Is it the same?¡± ¡°It is similar. Rather than just passively allowing someone or something to siphon your mana, you will need to help by pushing your mana to me when I start casting. We should practice before I do anything major.¡± He walked around to one of his marker stones and said, ¡°I am going to grow this mark into a pillar ten feet high and three feet wide on each side. It may be a little ambitious, but I want to see what you can do. Hold my hand and slowly ramp up how much mana you give me until I say to stop.¡± Violet waited for him to start before pushing twenty mana to him through their linked hands. The pillar he raised from the bedrock went from a slow and even rate to jumping out of the ground. The dirt on top of the stone pillar was launched several feet into the air before raining back down on them. Rather than the ten by three by three-pillar Zane was trying to raise, they ended up with a ten-foot by three-foot by nine-foot section of wall. ¡°Geez! Violet! I said to start slow!¡± Zane said furiously. ¡°Sorry! I thought that was slow. It was only twenty mana.¡± ¡°Raising that pillar alone would have cost me ten mana. Usually, when a mage sends mana to another, there is a large loss during the transfer. I expected you to start slow. I will be more clear on how slow from now on. What confuses me is I received nineteen of the twenty mana you sent me. How is that possible?¡± ¡°Oops, sorry, I didn''t even realize I was doing that,¡± Violet said absently while she recalled the steps she took to send him mana. ¡°Doing what? Don¡¯t make me drag it out of you.¡± ¡°I have a healing aspect called Drain Life. It is supposed to be used as a defensive spell. It annoyed me that when I used that aspect, I didn''t receive any of the mana or vitality I was draining from my target. I sort of used a technique I used to save mana from that when I sent you mana.¡± She had spent several months perfecting the use of Drain Life. No matter what she tried, Violet could not absorb any mana or vitality from what she was draining. She was, however, able to redirect what she was draining into something else. Giving energy to one plant from another was a successful workaround she had found. She could also power enchantments with the mana she drained. At first, the throughput was abysmal, but she could recover nine out of every ten mana she drained with practice. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Spare me the details for now. Between the two of us, we can raise a sheltered area like we were using in the south. Give me a moment to adjust my marks, and we¡¯ll get to work.¡± He said with an excited smile on his face. A circular wall surrounded them from all but the campsite entrance when they were done. There was enough room inside the walls to fit five wagons arranged along the walls comfortably. It was smaller than the ones located in the south, but this road didn''t see enough travelers to require anything more significant.
They ended up raising two more shelters before they needed to leave the road and head toward the ancient ruin. During the day, Violet worked on enchanting objects to help them explore the semi-submerged building. Enchanting was an ability she used as much as she could. Violet could not create anything other than single-use enchants, but she was working on ways to extend the life of an item. Right now, the things she could make were on par with what a modern magician could make. It was just far cheaper for her to make single-use enchants. All she needed to do was focus clearly in her mind on what she wanted the enchant to do and have a big enough object to inscribe a rune on. It would save her mana if she etched the symbol on the thing before trying to enchant it. Without a symbol, it would cost her mana and overall synchronization to inscribe the object¡¯s rune magically. With the rune, mana smoothed out any imperfections, and synchronization would only be lost if she messed up the rune too severely. As she got more proficient with enchanting, she was able to inscribe two runes on each object to have combined effects. The limitation was that the symbols needed to be from one of her tier two magic types. The main thing holding her back with enchanting was her need to find a power source to make the enchants last longer. The ancients had a way to do it, so she was confident that eventually, she would discover their secret. When she had finished making the items for the group, she gathered everyone to explain how to use them. ¡°I have gifts for everyone,¡± she said as she handed the things to each person. Holding up a pendant on a leather necklace, she said, ¡°This is the most important item. It is your get out of jail free card.¡± ¡°Why are we going to jail?¡± Rick asked, confused. ¡°Oh um, we aren¡¯t. It¡¯s just a saying my friend used to use a lot. Anyway, wear it at all times. As long as you are within two miles of the wagon, when you inject your mana into this token, it will teleport you about two feet above the roof of the carriage. I¡¯ve placed a paired token on the roof of the carriage. Important safety note, it will only teleport what you can hold when you activate it. So, make sure you hold everything or everyone you want to take with you. Any questions?¡± ¡°Why two feet above the roof? Won¡¯t that drop hurt?¡± Regina asked. ¡°Safety, if someone accidentally places a box over the tokens on the roof, there will still be enough clearance for the enchant to work still. Please pay attention to where you pack things on the roof.¡± When nobody else had questions, Violet moved on to the following items. Holding up a hat, she said, ¡°this is our light source while we are down there. There are four settings, High, Medium, Low, and Off. Once you activate it the first time, it will begin to lose mana. Even if you turn it off, it will still drain itself eventually. At the high setting, the light should last around four hours. The lower the setting, the longer it will last. I suggest we take turns activating our lights.¡± Violet had bought knit hats similar to a beanie while in Port Maya. Rick¡¯s hat had holes where his ears could poke through. Most beastkin found anything on their heads uncomfortable, and Rick was no different. He was happy to have a light but would not be wearing it until he needed it. The next item Violet presented was a wrist sheath with sockets to place enchantments. Both sockets were currently filled, and a pouch on the underside of the sheath held more tablets. ¡°This will manipulate the water around you to stay an inch away from your skin. It won¡¯t prevent anything from attacking you. It merely keeps the water off of your clothing.¡± She said while pointing to the top enchant. ¡°The bottom enchant is the most important one. It will create a bubble of air around your nose and mouth. If you open the pouch on the sheath, there are two more of this type of enchantment in there to keep you safe. Each one should last four hours, but it varies depending on how heavily you are breathing.¡± ¡°Wow. Vi, you¡¯ve really outdone yourself. I think the only one I could have done is the light. Even that would have taken me weeks if not months of trial and error before I got it right.¡± Regina said. ¡°These will be very useful tomorrow. Thank you, Violet.¡± Rick said. Not to be outdone, Zane made a show of reverently placing each item on and admiring it. It embarrassed her a little bit because these were just items she had been experimenting with for years. Violet had to practice enchanting in secret, so she could never show anyone other than Avery or her parents the finished products before she used or destroyed them. Using her Drain Life trick to supply the mana requirement helped her with mana to experiment with different ideas she had bouncing around her head.
¡°What can I bribe you with to make noise-canceling ear covers?¡± Zane asked that night as they were getting ready to sleep. ¡°That would probably take an act of fate. Any enchantments that have to do with sound require Air magic. I¡¯m sure I will get that eventually, but I don''t have it right now.¡± Violet said. ¡°There is really nothing you can do about that loud guy I am forced to sleep near?¡± Zane whined. ¡°I could create a bucket that refills itself with water. You could pour it on Rick when he starts to snore.¡± She replied, trying and failing to keep a giggle down. ¡°I would prefer to keep my life. Thank you very much! You realize he would come after you once he got done killing me, right?¡± ¡°It would be a bucket. How was I to know you would have evil purposes for a bucket of water?¡± She said while innocently batting her eyes.
On the final night of their journey, they camped within sight of the ancient ruins. Erosion along the shoreline caused the once-mighty building to be completely submerged during high tide. Saltwater had damaged the structure extensively, but it was still mostly standing. When they arrived, the tide was still coming in, and several colorful fish were swimming close to the shore. When Rick saw the fish, he made a point to tell everyone not to go in the water. The fish had teeth and used swarm tactics to kill larger prey. Seeing the fish there set the party on edge. There was always a larger predator, and they were worried about what kind of beasts would make the ancient structure their home. Chapter 57 - Site Two Part 1 During the night, the party was attacked by crabs. The high tide displaced them, and they were fighting for the land containing the group¡¯s campsite. They were not much of a threat, but their bodies were the size of an adult human head. Violet had not found out about it until it was time for her watch in the morning. She used the crab meat to cook crab cakes for breakfast and scrambled eggs. When Zane woke, he requested a biscuit and made a crab cake and egg breakfast sandwich. After seeing him do this, Violet rolled her eyes and conjured several more biscuits so everyone could emulate his idea. They still had a few hours to wait for the tide to be low enough for their purposes, so the other two took their time getting up. When a blurry-eyed Regina made her way out of the wagon to find breakfast, Zane said, ¡°Our sleeping beauty has graced us with her presence!¡± Regina made a hand gesture at Zane and then looked for food. ¡°How are things looking?¡± Regina asked after she had finished eating breakfast. ¡°I estimate we will be able to enter in an hour or so. We¡¯ll need to stick to the western portions of the building, to begin with, to avoid flooded sections.¡± Rick said from behind the wagon, startling them. ¡°Come get breakfast, you big oaf. Were you out scouting?¡± Zane called out. ¡°Boy, you know darn well I was. You need to start teaching the girls to be more aware of their surroundings.¡± Rick grunted and smiled when Violet presented him with a crab cake sandwich.
¡°Explain the plan to me again?¡± Regina asked as they approached the ancient building. ¡°We stick together. Zane is in front while Rick guards our rear. I still don''t know why you two are being so paranoid. If there are more crabs, we can take care of them.¡± Violet replied. ¡°Do you have any idea what kinds of animals make their homes in and around ancient buildings?!? Yes, we are going to be safe. We have time. If we cant reach everything, we will come back during the next low tide.¡± Zane said, annoyed that the girls were still not taking things seriously enough. It was hard to tell what the original structure looked like. To enter the ruin, they had to jump down into the building from a hole in the wall. Rick took the time to secure four different ropes from various trees to ensure they had an easy and safe way to retreat. Zane jumped down into the building with his sword out and ready to defend himself. He roamed around the room, checking for dangers before he gave the all-clear for everyone else to follow him down. When it was Violet¡¯s turn, she emulated Regina and used the rope to lower herself down to the floor. The lights were no longer operational, but the sunlight still provided them with light to see by. If there was any paint on the walls, it had been washed away with the seawater long ago. A layer of sand coated the floor, and smaller crustaceans ran away from Violet whenever she got too close. Two doorways were leading away from the room they were in. One was along the northwest wall, and the other was on the southeast wall. Zane led the group through the northwestern doorway when everyone was ready with his light turned on. The hallway they entered was five feet wide and still had water dripping in several places along the walls. Despite, or maybe because of this water, the walls were covered in vines with moss-like growths. When Zane shone his light on the wall, there was a hive of activity scuttling away from the brightness. Violet saw spiders, miniature crabs, and even worms moving throughout the mass on the walls. The floors were sand-covered and showed signs of snakes or eels crossing along the bottom. ¡°Oh gross! Worms.¡± Regina said when she noticed what was along the walls. Violet didn''t blame her. Some worms were over two feet long and three inches in diameter. The four of them made an effort to stay as far away from the walls as possible to avoid the critters. As they progressed, single file down the hallway, they began to hear a hissing noise. At first, it was hard to hear, but as they neared the back of the hallway, more sources joined in the hissing. ¡°I think we are about to find whatever made those marks in the sand. Eyes sharp, give everyone room to fight, and avoid the walls.¡± Zane said in a business-like manner. ¡°We are surrounded,¡± Rick said gruffly while drawing dual swords and flipping on his light. When Violet turned around to see what he was talking about, four snakes were caught in his beam. They were six feet long and three inches in diameter. She was about to make a wisecrack about it not being a problem when she noticed even more snakes hidden along the vine-covered walls. ¡°I¡¯ll take the left wall. Regina, you take the right,¡± Violet said while using her Water Manipulation to freeze the left wall. There wasn¡¯t enough moisture to freeze everything on the wall, so she quickly switched to increasing the gravity. This caused several vines to snap and fall to the ground along with the critters. She carefully increased gravity on the snakes that fell to the floor, immobilizing them. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Rick slicing heads off anything that jumped at him. Zane was conjuring sharpened stone and using telekinesis to attack anything that moved. She could not see what Regina was doing, but she seemed to have things well in hand. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Turning back to her self-assigned wall, she began to shoot shards of ice at the heads and necks of every creature that twitched. By the time she was sure no snakes were left alive, the sounds of fighting around her had also stopped. Taking a deep breath, Violet said, ¡°Is everyone ok?¡± After receiving a confirmation, she decided to Analyze everyone, including herself, just to be safe. Zane and Regina were both unharmed when she tested them. When she tested Rick, she detected trace amounts of venom in his bloodstream. While she was using Cure Poison, she went into lecture mode. ¡°Rick, I need to know about it when you are hurt. Even a scratch could turn deadly if poison is not caught in time.¡± Rick mumbled something too low to be heard. ¡°What was that?¡± Violet asked. ¡°I SAID I DIDN''T GET HURT!¡± Rick yelled, causing everyone to flinch. ¡°There was venom in your body. You don¡¯t need to yell. It is ok,¡± Violet said quietly. ¡°I may have swallowed some blood during the melee. I. Did. Not. Get. Hit.¡± Rick said forcefully. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s get exploring!¡± Zane said with far too much cheer. There were no more large encounters with the local wildlife while they explored the rooms. The vines did not spread any further than the hallway, so the group could explore the rooms unhindered. There were still a few snakes that survived, but Violet and Zane made a game of who could kill them the fastest. When Zane and Rick¡¯s lights started to flicker, they all headed out for the day. The tide would be coming back in soon, and they did not want to play in the water just yet. The lights had been a success. They had lasted for eight hours of use at medium intensity. The highest setting practically blinded everyone and was not needed.
Once they arrived at their camp for the night, Rio decided to make himself known. ¡°And where have you been, Mr. Rio?¡± Violet asked when he landed on her shoulder. ¡°Caw, Intruder in camp, caw, look for traps,¡± Rio said, and then he flew off and landed on a nearby tree branch. All four drew or conjured their weapons and began to look at everything with a critical eye. Violet stood back and used Spell Vision to look for any remaining wisps of magic. ¡°Magic is coming from the top of the wagon, most likely the teleport tokens. I can see some magic coming from inside the carriage, as well as some magic coming off of Raya and Hunter.¡± ¡°Violet, check the roof and make sure the teleport tokens are unharmed. Regina, send a Decoy in to check on the inside of the wagon. Rick, help me figure out what was done to the amberclaws.¡± Zane said. Violet used a Decoy to go up and look at the wagon¡¯s roof. From what she could see, nothing had been moved or tampered with. At least in regards to her teleport tokens. She had taken the time to enchant the top of the carriage with a disguise so the critical items would not be easily spotted. The boxes on the roof had all been dumped out or rifled through. She made a Mental Note to herself to check all of their foodstuffs for poison going forward. Violet was thankful for the ability to detect poison. Unfortunately, her Decoy could not use the spell, so she needed to wait for Regina to finish her interior inspection. After visually inspecting the roof, she dismissed her double and walked over to the two amberclaws. ¡°It looks like they were given a sleeping draft,¡± Zane said when she approached. Violet nodded and walked up to the animals. Placing her hand on Raya, she used Analyze and looked for anything more dangerous. ¡°I¡¯m going to clear the sleeping potion out of her system, get ready to soothe her.¡± She said when she found no other complications. Raya jumped up, ready to fight as soon as Violet cleared the toxins out of her system. It took both Rick and Zane to soothe the beast before she was even close calmed down. ¡°You need to wake Hunter, or she will never completely settle down,¡± Rick said while holding Raya back. Hunter woke ready to defend himself. When he saw Raya, they were able to calm him a little faster, but it still took the four of them an hour with the amberclaws before they were calm enough to be left alone. Tamed Amberclaws were fiercely loyal to their mate and anyone they considered their pack. The cats had grown up with Regina often around, so she was considered family. The other three party members were tolerated because of Regina¡¯s presence. Once everything had settled down, Violet started to make dinner while the others cleaned up their belongings. They all sat down to discuss how the day went when it was ready. This was their regular routine, but they had much more to discuss today. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find anything that was missing from our supplies. I¡¯m not sure what they were looking for.¡± Regina said. ¡°The food did not look tampered with. What I have spot-checked so far has not been poisoned or damaged in any way.¡± Violet reported. ¡°I followed the trail of the intruder into the treeline, but as usual, I lost the trail not too far in. I think it may be the same person or group of persons who have been following us this entire time.¡± Zane said. ¡°They gave the amberclaws meat infused with the sleeping draft. I found an uneaten piece,¡± Rick growled. He had grown very fond of the beasts throughout their trip and was unhappy. ¡°When we go back to the ruin tomorrow, what can we do to prevent this from happening again?¡± Zane asked. ¡°Regina and I can take turns keeping a Decoy on watch duty. I don''t like the idea of one of us staying out here alone,¡± Violet suggested while Regina nodded in agreement. ¡°Do you think it is even worth going back in that place? We didn''t find anything of note when we went in today. If there were carvings or paint, it¡¯s all gone now,¡± Zane asked. ¡°It is possible that the submerged part of the ruin is better preserved. I¡¯m not ready to give up on this place. We were able to deduce that this was a Water Magic structure. I¡¯m hoping to find something to make this trip worth it,¡± Violet said. The group spoke a little more about lighter subjects until it was time for bed. Even though the crabs were likely to set off the perimeter alarms, they all agreed to use them every night going forward. So far, their stalker had not harmed anything permanently, but they didn''t know how long that would last. Chapter 58 - Site Two Part 2 ¡°The perimeter alarm went off fifteen times last night,¡± Regina complained while Violet was trying to wake her for the day. Regina had never been a morning person, and losing sleep didn¡¯t help. ¡°I¡¯ll give you another hour to sleep, but you know Zane isn¡¯t going to go easy on you for missing the morning workout,¡± Violet said with a grin. She wished she was back in bed as well. Every time the alarm went off, everyone woke up ready to fight. When it had only been a crab, falling back asleep was difficult, with the adrenaline still running through her system. Fiddling with the perimeter stones to see how they worked quickly made it to the top of Violet¡¯s list of things to do. They were likely a product of enchantment that involved spatial magic. While modern magic had quite a few limits she didn¡¯t have, people with enough drive and focus could learn spells from multiple branches of magic. Making new enchants was a lost art, but the old enchants were fiercely guarded and could be reproduced. Violet left the carriage to join the two men for their morning warmup. Usually, the morning warmup was simple stretching exercises and light cardio to get their blood pumping. Last night, Zane had let it be known that this morning would include the combat training they skipped because of their unwanted visitor. ¡°I take it she isn¡¯t coming?¡± Zane asked when Violet joined them. ¡°She will be sleeping for another hour,¡± Violet said with a wince. She almost felt bad for the workout Regina would get for skipping a session. ¡°Ha! Told you so. Pay up,¡± Zane said with a smirk looking at Rick. Rick grumbled good-naturedly and then dropped and started to do pushups. Zane was constantly trying to make bets with people. The usual bets he made involved the loser doing push-ups or some other physical torture he could think up. While Rick was doing his push-ups, Violet whispered to Zane, ¡°Is he in a better mood today?¡± In response to her question, Zane gave her a slight head nod. He looked like he wanted to say more but just looked over at his mentor and sighed. For their morning training, they worked on Violet¡¯s awareness. Rather than using both her Water and Spatial shield as a combined shield, Zane had her push her Spatial shield away from her body in gradual increments. His goal was to have her use the shield to let her know about an incoming attack from a blind spot. It was similar to what Avery had done to help her raise synchronization with the two shields, so she picked up on the idea quickly. Regina ended up waking up and dragging herself out of bed before her allotted extra hour had elapsed. Zane was sad when he saw her up without prodding. He had planned on waking her up with a cold bucket of water. Violet was beginning to wonder if he had a crush on Regina and just didn''t know how to express it. He often picked on her whenever he could find an excuse.
Once the tide had moved out sufficiently to resume their exploration, the four made their way back to the ruins. Regina left a Decoy on the wagon¡¯s roof to watch their camp and the two amberclaws while they explored. Once Regina was at half mana, Violet would take over with a Decoy she created. ¡°Everyone ready to get wet?¡± Zane asked when they entered the ruins. Violet groaned and said, ¡°We need to save the mana on the water repellant. You can turn your light on at the lowest setting, and it should last. If we need more light, we can take turns so we can preserve the enchants.¡± ¡°We can keep the water-repellant enchant off until we need to go swimming. It will likely be cold, but we can just get Vi to get the water out of our clothes if we get too cold.¡± Regina said as Violet nodded in agreement. The southeastern doorway led to a hallway similar to the one they visited the day before. Thankfully, there were no moss-covered vines that hid snakes from their view. There were still several territorial crabs and water snakes that they needed to cut down on their journey. ¡°The walls in this section were even more degraded,¡± Regina said with a sigh. After looking in each side room, Violet was almost ready to give up on this place being of any use to them. As she was about to speak her mind, her foot broke through the floor where she was walking. She grabbed onto Rick when her foot punched through and avoided falling. The water in this section was manageable and only reached their knees. ¡°Woah! Watch your footing. The floor is rotten in this section.¡± Violet said when she regained her balance. Using Water Manipulation, she removed the water from the section her foot had punched through. ¡°Hey Zane, can you make this hole larger?¡± There was a one-foot by one-foot section of flooring missing, but there appeared to be another floor beneath them. Zane nodded, and then the hole in the floor began to enlarge. When he finished, there was a four-foot square section open for them to explore the floor beneath. ¡°It¡¯s impossible to see anything from up here. Let¡¯s activate water breathing and the repellant and take a look at what we¡¯ve found,¡± He said when he was finished. ¡°Before we go in there, Vi, can you put your Decoy on the wagon, please? I¡¯m not quite at half mana yet, but we¡¯ve been in here for four hours, so it is your turn to take over,¡± Regina asked. Zane fastened a rope above the hole and led the group to the lower floor. The ground was surprisingly free of sand in the room they entered. The walls were bare, with no signs of paint or carvings ever being present. A door filled will enough holes to resemble swiss cheese was still present. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Rather than cutting a hole in the door, Zane opted to cut it entirely out so they would have a clear path to retreat. If Violet had to guess, they had entered this area through a storage room. The area beyond the door was expansive. She could not see the far walls. Several carved pillars were in place throughout the space to hold up the ceiling. ¡°Don''t wander off on your own, and keep the rope near you at all times,¡± Zane said in a muffled voice when he noticed Rick had dropped the rope to inspect one of the columns. The enchants made it challenging to communicate. They needed almost to yell what they wanted to say to be understood. Inspecting the columns was almost peaceful. The four of them had not encountered another living thing since they had been down on this floor. The pillars were carved for beauty rather than with any words. Violet wished she could have seen them in their pristine condition. The group made their way to the center of the room to inspect a giant pillar. ¡°I can make out some words on this one,¡± Violet said excitedly. Clearing her voice so it would carry, she began to read the inscription aloud. There is no life without water. Those who control water control life. ¡°There is more, but I cannot make out the words. It looks like something has been rubbing on this pillar with how smooth it is.¡± At the base of the pillar, Violet saw a broken piece of spherical glass and thought, ¡®How odd, I haven¡¯t seen any other glass down here. I wonder if it is what remains of a crystal.¡¯ If it was a crystal, she wanted to take that with her. Even if it was broken, surely some knowledge could be gained from it. ¡°Zane, can you carefully free this broken item, please? If it is what I think it is, we just had a major find.¡± After wrapping the broken pieces carefully in a cloth, Violet placed them in her bag for further study. Looking up from her task, she was shocked at how dark it had suddenly gotten. Even after placing her light on the highest setting, she could barely see Regina a few feet away. ¡°Something is not right,¡± Rick said as he equipped his swords beside her. ¡°I can¡¯t see very well all of a sudd---ahhh.¡± Regina began to say. ¡°Something is wrapped around my leg!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got you,¡± Zane said as he began to hack at the arm holding Regina¡¯s leg. Meanwhile, Rick was hacking away at another arm that had grabbed him. It was a losing battle, though. Soon all four had a limb or two wrapped up by a tentacle. They were all helpless as it started to drag them further away from their rope and the direction they had entered the floor. Thinking quickly, Violet began to use Teleport on the limb holding her arm. It took her two attempts to sever the appendage before she started using the same technique for the one attached to her leg. Their attacker was not moving very quickly, but it had moved them enough to leave the pool of ink that had blocked their vision. Looking around once she had freed herself, Regina was using her Shadow Blade with success to cut the appendage holding her. Zane was making decent progress using a combination of Gravity and his sword to cut through the arms holding him. Unfortunately, Rick had managed to get caught by three tentacles, one on each arm and one around his waist. The three of them quickly swam to Rick while dodging tentacles, trying to recapture them. Through an unspoken agreement, they each picked a limb and started cutting. They had yet to see the body of this massive beast and hoped not to find out just how big it was in person. ¡°Once Rick is free, activate your teleport tokens!¡± Zane yelled. Regina was the first to activate her token, closely followed by Rick and Zane. Rather than use her token, Violet decided to teleport herself to her Decoy to avoid landing on the other three party members. Unfortunately, before she did that, another tentacle grabbed her leg, causing her to lose concentration. She felt a pinch on her leg a few seconds before she had freed herself a second time. Taking no chances, she activated the teleport token right away and landed on the roof of the wagon. Her leg was completely numb when she had time to sit up and look at her surroundings. ¡°I think that thing had paralysis venom. I cant feel my leg,¡± Violet said while delving into her system with Analysis. The venom was working fast. After confirming her suspicions, she immediately started using Cure Poison to counteract the venom. It wasn¡¯t working fast enough. While working on her torso, she lost movement in her other leg. ¡°Get the anti-venom potion!¡± Zane called to Regina. By the time Regina returned with the potion, Violet was having trouble breathing. Her lungs had started refusing to work. The venom worked too quickly for her to counteract and make up ground on. ¡°Sit her up. I¡¯ll pour it down her throat,¡± Regina said while popping the top off of the potion bottle. As soon as the potion made it into Violet¡¯s stomach, she had the extra push she needed to overpower the venom and banish it from her system. She was not done healing once all the poison was gone. There was damage in quite a few of her organs that needed to be healed, and she needed to cut a large portion of her skin away from where she had been bitten. The skin was dead and had turned black. ¡°Why isn¡¯t there such a thing as pain block? That hurt!¡± Violet whined when she had made her final sweep with Analysis and didn''t find anything more than fatigue remaining on the results. ¡°What was that thing anyway?¡± ¡°If I had to guess, it was some kind of giant squid or octopus. To have limbs that long, the thing had to be massive. I will not be going back in there.¡± Zane said. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to agree with Zane, we could have died in there, and other than pretty carvings, we don''t have anything to show for it,¡± Regina said. Violet carefully unwrapped the crystal shards she had collected and displayed them to the others. ¡°This may have been worth it. I am hoping this is the remains of the crystal in that building. There may be something I can learn from these.¡± ¡°We head out tomorrow then?¡± Rick asked. With the four of them in agreement, Violet got up to start making dinner. Chapter 59 - River Travel It took two days for the quartet to reach a clear path resembling a road. All of the villages in the area were located next to the sea, so moving goods via boat was the preferred method. Zane and Violet continued to create shelters each night for better protection, which helped with the frequency of the perimeter wards sounding the alarm. Violet did not have much of a chance to experiment with enchanting during their eight-day travel to the northern river. Zane had everyone walking or running beside the carriage on most days. Even Rick was not exempt from this new form of torture. They each took a turn at driving the wagon throughout the day for individual rest periods. By the time they reached the small town on the northern river, Violet was ready for a break. She had never let herself be inactive for long, but Zane¡¯s new torture workout had shown her just how much further she had to go. The only ones in their group that could last the entire day walking and running were Zane and Rick. If it had been just simple walking, Violet wouldn''t have had a problem keeping up with the amberclaws. Unfortunately, Zane liked to randomly call out activities for them to do like sprinting to a tree and back along their path which made things harder. The small town they ended up in was mainly focused on fishing. There were a few fields, but the majority of the town had a boat and their diets consisted mainly of fish. It didn''t take long for Regina to find a ferryman willing to transport them west to the next town. The barge was a little smaller than the one they had taken to cross the central river, but it was still large enough to fit their wagon along with the amberclaws.
The northern river was eighty feet wide and impossible to see how deep. The water was filled with silt giving it a greenish-brown color. They boarded the flat bottomed boat in the morning without any issues. It was common for merchants to hire a ferryman to take them on the river so there was a convenient ramp to get the carriage onto the boat. The boat they boarded didn''t have any sails, and even if it did, there wasn¡¯t much of a wind present that morning. ¡°How are we going to go against the flow of the river without a sail?¡± She asked Regina. ¡°Oh, that is part of the reason why we managed to hire the boat so cheaply. We will need to recharge the movement enchant. We will charge 1000 mana each morning into the keystone.¡± ¡°What kind of movement enchant? Can I examine it?¡± Violet asked. ¡°Not unless you want to go swimming,¡± Zane said from behind them. When Violet made a confused face, he continued, ¡°The enchant is on the bottom of the boat. We just need to pour mana into the keystone to feed it.¡± The ferryman they hired was an older gentleman that mainly kept to himself. On one of the few occasions that he spoke to them, he said the trip would take around four days, depending on the weather. Each night they would need to stop and drop the anchor or tie up on land. It was not safe to travel in the dark. There was not enough room on the boat for the party to do anything more than light stretching, so that left everyone to pursue their interests. Regina spent a lot of time writing in a journal that she always kept on her person. From what Violet had deduced over the years, she was either writing entries in a diary or writing theories about magic. The water ruin had given them all something to ponder. What they had seen of the lower floor was telling a story or a history on each pillar. Rick spent his time sharpening his swords and tending his armor. His armor had saved him from being injected with the paralysis venom, but several rips needed to be repaired. Violet suspected many of the slashes were created either by Rick himself or the others while trying to free him from the appendages. Zane often had a book out during downtime. The books he had brought with him in his Void Storage were all about Kasmayan history and the history of warfare. Violet had made a point of always reading the spines of the books he was reading, hoping to catch him reading some trashy romance. She had yet to have any success, but she wasn¡¯t going to give up. Violet spent her time recharging or recreating the enchants she had previously made for the group. It just made sense to her for everyone to keep those enchants on them at all times, especially with them traveling on open water. Once she had finished replacing what was used, she set her sights on the broken crystal they salvaged from the ruin. The fight with the octopus did not help her in this endeavor. There were even more fragments of crystal that she needed to place back where they belonged carefully. It was a three-dimensional puzzle that she needed to put back together without all of the pieces. The words that she could make out on the larger pieces were not written in Runic. This project was going to take a little while before she would see any results. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
On the morning of their third day on the river, Zane made an observation that made our tour guide roll his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve never understood those who are willing to risk their boat to save a little time. Driving at night is just flat-out dangerous.¡± ¡°Is it something that we should be worried about?¡± Zane asked. Driving at night can catch up to you, and the reckless ones lose their boat. I wouldn''t worry about anyone passing us at night. This is a standard route to reach the town where you are going.¡± The ferryman replied. After breakfast, Violet decided to take a break from putting the puzzle together and enjoy the scenery for a little while. Rio joined her when she climbed on the roof of the wagon, but he didn''t seem to be in a talking mood. She needed to write a thank you letter to Avery after making their circuit of the ruins. Rio had tipped her group off to several potentially dangerous events. She reached up to stroke his feathers while taking in her surroundings. The trees along the side of the river had been getting increasingly denser as they progressed on the river. Today, Violet could not even see the shore. The trees along the shoreline had leaf-filled branches touching the water on both sides of the river. Besides the river being a faster way to travel, their group did not travel along the shore because of how thick the trees were in this area. Dangerous beasts were often spotted in the forest to the south of them, so it was safest to avoid it. While she was musing about what kind of creatures lived in the water, she saw the back of something swimming. It did not surface for very long, but it looked similar to a crocodile. She quickly added swimming to her list of things not to do while on the river. Not that she had planned on it in the first place. As they rounded a bend in the river, Violet noticed a large tree had fallen and was blocking a large portion of the river. ¡°There is a tree down up ahead.¡± She called out in case their tour guide had not already noticed it. The older man waved at her and began to slow their boat down to maneuver around the tree more manageable. There were around three feet of clearance on each side of the boat as they tried to avoid any downed limbs from the tree. They had slowed to a crawl to get around the tree safely. When their boat had reached the halfway point, vines began to grow from both sides of the river to entangle their craft. This confused Violet until Zane shouted, ¡°Nature mage!¡± and started to cut any vine that came too close. Regina and Rick each took a section and began cutting shortly after Zane had called out. Violet took her place on a corner and started to use Far Seeing to see if she could locate the Nature mage that was trying to attack them. They likely wouldn''t show themselves until the craft was disabled or locked down. Something bumped the underside of the boat, causing Rick to let out a string of curses followed by, ¡°At least one beast is attacking. There will likely be more. Keep an eye out!¡± Shortly after Rick¡¯s announcement, the boat was bumped by two other crocodiles, causing the vessel they were on to be pushed backward and slightly closer to the shore. When the beasts came up for another push, Violet was ready. As soon as she saw its head, she shot it with a combination of Ice Shards and Acid Blast. It was an acid projectile encased in ice with a sharp tip designed for maximum penetration. The animal didn''t have a chance. The tip pieced its eyeball and delivered the acid directly into its brain. As soon as the beast she targeted died, a loud shriek came from somewhere along the shore. Violet remembered hearing about Nature Mages being able to share senses with their controlled animals. There was an abrupt stop in the vines and beast attacks because of this. Their ferryman chose that moment to yell ¡°hold on!¡± and increased the speed of their boat to avoid the trap they were in. After an hour of high-speed travel, the ferryman slowed the boat to their usual traveling speed and asked, ¡°Could you charge the keystone, please? Traveling at high speeds costs a lot of mana to maintain.¡± The passengers gladly donated their mana to help charge the keystone and then gathered together for a discussion. ¡°We need to be extra vigilant from now on. I know we weren¡¯t slacking before, but this stalker of ours just escalated her actions.¡± Zane said. ¡°What more can we do? I thought we were being careful.¡± Regina replied. ¡°Double watch at night.¡± Zane and Rick said at the same time. ¡°Rick or I will trade-off watching with you two,¡± Zane said, pointing at Regina and Violet. ¡°Do you not trust us to keep watch? You won¡¯t get enough sleep to be functional during the day.¡± Violet asked. ¡°We¡¯ve both trained to function on less sleep, and we can take a nap during the day if we need it. It¡¯s not that we don''t trust you. You haven¡¯t been trained on all of the signs to look for while on watch.¡± Zane said. ¡°Aye, and I can hear and smell better than the lot of you,¡± Rick put in. Regina then turned to the ferryman and asked, ¡°Sir, if we can provide light to see by, would you be willing to travel through the night until we reach the next down? We should only need to do it for one night, right?¡± ¡°If it means we don''t get attacked again, I can make an exception. We will be traveling at half-speed. Even with a light, it is still dangerous to travel at night.¡± Regina and Violet took turns keeping a modified version of Dazzle active during their night of travel. It was a weak version of the spell tailored to not interfere with night vision, as long as you didn''t look directly at it. They made it into town before noon on the next day. Chapter 60 - Avoidance When the boat arrived in town, they were unloaded and heading west out of the city. At every shop they stopped at along their journey out of town, they made sure to comment about their destination being Elvenlock. There was a bridge near the Y in the river, so traveling west made plenty of sense to those in town.
Fourteen hours earlier: ¡°Why is an Ancient Nature Mage attacking us?¡± Rick asked when it was clear they were no longer being followed. ¡°The only Nature mages I know of in Kasmaya, other than mother, are male. A foreign mage attacked us, and this goes completely against anything Astresh has done in the past.¡± Regina replied. ¡°As much as I dislike Astresh, I agree this is not their usual form of attack. They would be going against the ¡®Rules of War¡¯ contract both kingdoms signed. Attacking someone from the Royal family is enough to trigger the contract penalties. The only way they could get around that is if the royal that was attacked was within fifty miles of a battleground.¡± Zane said with a frown. ¡°Regardless of who attacked us, we need to change our plans. The map with our route was on the wagon¡¯s wall when our camp was invaded. If it is the same person, she knows where we are going.¡± Violet put in. ¡°The important places we need to visit are six and eight. Those two sites are intact, with a barrier around them for protection. From what I remember of site three, it is just a pile of rubble with no way to easily access the lower floors. We were hoping that Zane might be able to find a void and tunnel us into the ruin, but we can skip it.¡± Regina said while pointing at the map. ¡°What do we know about sites four and five?¡± Zane asked. ¡°They are in similar condition as site three. I believe site five has one room open, but nobody has reported anything interesting. Again we were hoping Zane may be able to help open new areas for us.¡± ¡°Why don''t we skip sites three and four. Site five is along the way to six, so we can take a look at it as we go.¡± Violet ran her finger along the new route she proposed. ¡°I¡¯m not against skipping sites. But if we take that route, we will still need to figure out how to get across the river. There aren¡¯t any bridges that far north.¡± Zane said. ¡°I can build an ice bridge to get us across the river anywhere we choose. I didn''t suggest this before because I will need to make temporary enchants for the wagon to make it lighter.¡± Violet said. ¡°That sounds expensive and foolish. The river runs too swiftly for a bridge to last long on its surface.¡± Rick said. Stolen story; please report. After a moment of silence, Zane said, ¡°What if I make a stone boat? I can make it light, and it will float as long as I bring the sides up high enough. That should be tough enough to last for the entire trip. But I won¡¯t have any way of propelling it across the river. Does your water magic have anything that could help with that?¡± Violet thought about what she would need to do to propel the boat. She didn''t know how the ship they were on was moving, but she did know how to make a water wheel move with water manipulation. ¡°If you can make a water wheel on the back of the boat, I can make it move.¡± When they had agreed on their new course, Rick brought up an important fact. ¡°We need to stay out of towns. Buy extra food when we land.¡± Rick added. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to pick food that will last until we make it past site five. Violet, we will depend on you to make it palatable. Jerky, oats, rice, and flour are not my idea of a rounded meal. At least we will be skirting a forest so we can hunt for meat.¡± Regina said.
Present Time ¡°Do you think she will take the bait and lose our trail?¡± Violet asked Zane while they drove out of town. ¡°I¡¯ll be hiding our tracks as soon as we turn off the road. With Regina holding a cloaking spell over our wagon and the amberclaws, we will have a good chance.¡± Raising her voice so Regina could hear her on the roof, Violet said, ¡°You two, let me know if you are running low on mana, and I will either help supplement you or take over for Regina.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll scout ahead for caves we can use. These hills are riddled with them,¡± Rick said a few hours later. The party had made good time after leaving town. They left the road as soon as it would not be seen, but they had only traveled five miles north before continuing west again. The further north they traveled, the sandier the terrain became. Rather than taxing the amberclaws, they decided to parallel the road for a few days until the ground in the north became more hospitable. Their original travel itinerary had them following a northern road to avoid the sand. They traveled until the sun was below the horizon, trying to get as much distance as they could from their pursuer. Rick did not end up finding any caves during his scouting, so it was up to Zane to make a shelter for them. With the help of Violet¡¯s mana, he molded the ground around them to look like just another rolling hill that encased the wagon and gave them enough room to walk around in. ¡°As long as we leave at first light, the chances of us being noticed are at a minimum.¡± He said, breathing hard with exertion. Even with Violet supplying most of the mana, it still taxed him to shape it. He had been using his Earth magic the entire day to keep any dust from kicking up and hiding all signs of their trail. ¡°We only need to keep this up for one more day, and then hopefully, we will be far enough west to start turning north. At the rate we¡¯ve been traveling, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if we start turning north tomorrow. Violet, can you work on the gravity reduction enchants you said you could make? If we can lighten the load for the amberclaws, then I want to make sure we do it.¡± Regina said. ¡°I can, but it will wipe my mana out. The enchants will only last around an hour before I will need to recharge them. It will take a minimum of four, one on each corner, to safely lighten the wagon. If we are near trees, I can drain some mana from their life force to power the enchants. I¡¯ll just need to be careful not to kill the tree in the process.¡± Violet replied. Violet on Hold Indefinitely I¡¯ve been having some problems lately when I write new chapters for Violet. When I started writing this, I didn''t have a clue what I was doing, and even though I took the time to outline and define quite a few things, I missed an important thing. What is the point? I¡¯ve tried to write in a point, but I can¡¯t wrap my head around a good enough reason for the Dominion to attack other kingdoms or an overall goal for Violet to have. What is the point of being the best at magic if there is no burning need for her to do so? Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. I am going to put Violet on hold indefinitely until I can answer those critical questions. Slice-of-life stories are fun to read, but eventually, she needs to start taking a more active role in her life and have personal goals. I¡¯m not done writing. I am going to take time to properly outline my next story so I will, as a writer, have a sense of accomplishment when I reach specific key plot points. I¡¯ll be posting my next story on Royal Road once I decide what story I want to write.